120 Traditional Healers Fail Exam
Feb 07, 2003
A TOTAL of 120 traditional practitioners have had their operating licenses cancelled,
A TOTAL of 120 traditional practitioners have had their operating licenses cancelled, reports Lillian Nalumansi.
This followed their failure to pass the national examinations set by their senior colleagues.
The senior colleagues were approved as examiners basing on their expertise.
Over 2,700 traditional practitioners in Kampala specialising in fetish and spirits (mayembe), traditional birth attendants and herbal hawkers sat for the Uganda Traditional Practitioners Examinations that have been on since January 2003.
The president of Uganda Neddagala Lyaayo, Ssaalongo Ben Ggulu, told The New Vision that the examinations were set according to areas of speciality.
Ggulu said over 50 traditional healers who advocated for human sacrificing as a means to appeasing the gods were deregistered.
“I specialised in fetishes but I do not believe in child or human sacrifices. It is people like these who have been tarnishing our image.â€
“We have caught them and they will not operate again. We will put in place a monitoring system to ensure that they do not operate,†Ggulu said.
“For the professional fetish specialists, they have to know what a fetish is, the kinds in existence, what purpose each serves and what happens when a fetish is left out,†he said.
Ggulu said the exercise was only done in Kampala at Mengo Social Centre and plans to expand upcountry.
Ends
This followed their failure to pass the national examinations set by their senior colleagues.
The senior colleagues were approved as examiners basing on their expertise.
Over 2,700 traditional practitioners in Kampala specialising in fetish and spirits (mayembe), traditional birth attendants and herbal hawkers sat for the Uganda Traditional Practitioners Examinations that have been on since January 2003.
The president of Uganda Neddagala Lyaayo, Ssaalongo Ben Ggulu, told The New Vision that the examinations were set according to areas of speciality.
Ggulu said over 50 traditional healers who advocated for human sacrificing as a means to appeasing the gods were deregistered.
“I specialised in fetishes but I do not believe in child or human sacrifices. It is people like these who have been tarnishing our image.â€
“We have caught them and they will not operate again. We will put in place a monitoring system to ensure that they do not operate,†Ggulu said.
“For the professional fetish specialists, they have to know what a fetish is, the kinds in existence, what purpose each serves and what happens when a fetish is left out,†he said.
Ggulu said the exercise was only done in Kampala at Mengo Social Centre and plans to expand upcountry.
Ends