Sexual enhancers sold openly in Kampala

Ten years ago, almost anybody procuring pills or herbal concoctions for enhancing sexual performance would do it discretely.

This, however, haschanged. Sunday Vision established that over 10 types of herbal concoctions are openly sold in Kampala.

Our undercover reporter gives an account below

They range from suspicious liquids packed in recycled mineral water bottles, to sealed, labelled packs.

Their alleged functions include raising libido, increasing sexual fluids, improving sperm count and elongating genitals. But where in Kampala can one find them?

My first stop is at a shop dealing in women’s underwear at E-plaza in Arua Park in the centre of Kampala. There is no sign from outside that they sell these items, but once inside, you see them safely kept in a glass locker.

I ask for a concoction to increase fluid secretion. The attendant, who has coloured hair and heavy make-up, asks me how severe the dryness is, to which I say I only want to increase my fluid levels. She pulls out five different bottles and explains to me how each of these substances works. She sells me one for sh10,000 and explains the dos and don’ts.

“Take this one, you will come back and tell me. And please, do not drink coffee,” she says.
She shows me another type, about half the size of my finger and assures me that my libido levels will shoot high. She adds that I should not risk taking it in the absence of my boyfriend. She says I could cut it into six parts and, therefore, use it six times.

She also shows me another type — a soft elastic object inserted in the private parts.

Picking out a gel, she assures me that it would also help stimulate my sexual fluids. I get reassurance from another customer who walks in and finds us arguing about the gel. She says it is a good buy. I part with sh10,000 for it. I wonder whether the gel does not have a foul smell. She then smears it on the back of my palm and asks me to smell it. True, it has no smell. After smelling it, I throw it in my bag.

Another type, packed in a red sachet and supposedly enhancing sensation, is also on display.

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Some of the sexual enhancers openly sold on the market

Makindye herbalists

Done with her, I move to Makindye, where I find a number of shrines and herbal shops next to the Chief Magistrates’ court. I am ushered into one of the shops by a woman, who is chatting with men outside her shop. I immediately get to the point that I want sexual enhancement. She asks for sh80,000, a figure that gets me laughing because it is too high.

But a spirited bargain brings down the figure to sh25,000.

And why such a high price? She says “it takes long to harvest sufficient amounts of the raw materials from forests.”

When I tell her that I have only sh10,000, she pulls out a piece of iron-rich soil, locally known as Mumbwa, insisting it will work just fine, if I dissolve it in water and drink twice a day. I express my doubt loudly over its effectiveness.

Locally, the same herb is used by pregnant women.

In the same shop are other preparations that allegedly increase penis sizes, women’s bums, hips and those that make breasts firm.

“This is good because it is natural. It is not like artificial lubricants,” she says.

I pay sh25,000 and ask for her telephone number, promising to call her back after seeing the results. Before I step out, I ask for another substance. She gives me one that looks like tea leaves. This, she says, should be poured into warm water and taken 20 minutes before making love.

With a confident look, she offers me another type, claiming my husband would notice a fundamental change in my performance. She says even if he had an adulterous mind, he would abandon those thoughts because I would be better than other women. more clients, shops

As I move out, two girls with short hair enter.

They look like university students. I try to hang in there, waiting to see what they would do, but they keep quiet until I walk out.

After 20 minutes, they move out and I ask one what they had come to do. She laughs sheepishly and tells me she had accompanied her friend, who refuses to talk to me.

I ask my photographer to trick them and she jokingly tells him that they had come to get herbs that stop men from cheating.

I move to another herbal shop. The owner gives me a liquid and says I should drink it almost every hour. When I tell her that I am dry, she asks me for sh300,000 for a full dose.

I get scared of telling her that I have only sh10,000, so, I increase to sh25,000.
After counselling me on how I should handle my husband, she enters another room and pours me the substance in a used mineral water bottle.

“However beautiful you are, you have to use these substances because if your husband comes across a woman who uses them, he might never come back to you,” she says.

I ask her what else she sells, apart from aphrodisiacs and she tells me that she helps girls to ‘pull’ and also gives them bedroom advice at a fee.

She says she also helps women who have never enjoyed sex to turn their fate around.

“I get about 15 clients a day,” she says. I pay sh20,000 for the concoction and move out because she has started becoming suspicious of me because of the many questions I ask. “Simanyi oli mbega? Lwaki obuuza nyo ebibuuzo,” she asks (are you a spy? Why do you ask many questions?).

I then head to an upscale supermarket, where I find two types of aphrodisiacs for women and another two for men. In order to take a clear picture, I call one of the attendants to come and explain to me how to use the toothache herbs, which was on the same shelf as the aphrodisiacs.

As he explains, other attendants keep looking at me and my photographer. All eyes were on us until we paid for the sexual enhancer.

trueDrugs to improve performance could be fatal — experts say

I pay sh25,000 and ask for her telephone number, promising to call her back after seeing the results. Before I step out, I ask for another substance. She gives me one that looks like tea leaves. This, she says, should be poured into warm water and taken 20 minutes before making love.

With a confident look, she offers me another type, claiming my husband would notice a fundamental change in my performance. She says even if he had an adulterous mind, he would abandon those thoughts because I would be better than other women.

More clients, shops

As I move out, two girls with short hair enter.

They look like university students. I try to hang in there, waiting to see what they would do, but they keep quiet until I walk out.

After 20 minutes, they move out and I ask one what they had come to do. She laughs sheepishly and tells me she had accompanied her friend, who refuses to talk to me.

I ask my photographer to trick them and she jokingly tells him that they had come to get herbs that stop men from cheating.

I move to another herbal shop. The owner gives me a liquid and says I should drink it almost every hour. When I tell her that I am dry, she asks me for sh300,000 for a full dose.

I get scared of telling her that I have only sh10,000, so, I increase to sh25,000.

After counseling me on how I should handle my husband, she enters another room and pours me the substance in a used mineral water bottle.

“However beautiful you are, you have to use these substances because if your husband comes across a woman who uses them, he might never come back to you,” she says.

I ask her what else she sells, apart from aphrodisiacs and she tells me that she helps girls to ‘pull’ and also gives them bedroom advice at a fee. She says she also helps women who have never enjoyed sex to turn their fate around.

“I get about 15 clients a day,” she says. I pay sh20,000 for the concoction and move out because she has started becoming suspicious of me because of the many questions I ask. “Simanyi oli mbega? Lwaki obuuza nyo ebibuuzo,” she asks (are you a spy? Why do you ask many questions?).

I then head to an upscale supermarket, where I find two types of aphrodisiacs for women and another two for men. In order to take a clear picture, I call one of the attendants to come and explain to me how to use the toothache herbs, which was on the same shelf as the aphrodisiacs.

As he explains, other attendants keep looking at me and my photographer. All eyes were on us until we paid for the sexual enhancer.

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Drugs to improve performance could be fatal — experts say

By Carol Natukunda

The adverts pop through our emails. The dealers are filling up the classified advert pages. Their messages promise hope — sex sweetness, reviving sex drive and even erasing erectile or menopausal challenges.

And for Ugandans who feel too old, they are convinced that it is about time they tried these seemingly godsend items to help them keep sexually active.

The increase in sales could explain why the shops are mushrooming downtown.

Doctors say it is only natural for testosterone levels to fall with age.
“After the age of 40 to 45, for most people, the sex drive begins to fall by about 0.5% to about 1% each year. Men can experience a loss of muscle mass and strength, depression, lethargy and a waning interest in sex. For women, they say sex begins at 40, but remember, at this point, she is almost hitting menopause and due to several environmental demands, she is not interested in sex,” observes Dr. Nathan Oryem, a gynaecologist in private practice.

He says sexual problems are what anyone would feel when we get older: “maybe a little decrease in energy, a little erectile problem, a little drop in libido. Often, those are normal for people in their 40s, 50s or above.”

However, sexual desire and performance, he says, can be revived through exercise and good dieting.
“Ironically, people are smoking, eating junk food and living sedentary lives, yet they expect their sex life to stay the same,” Oryem says,

He warns that the quick-fix many seek can cause side effects, including blood clots and infertility.

“Most drugs people use to enhance sexual performance have ingredients which can trigger abnormal cell growth, which could lead to several problems.

You are self-medicating, just like you are taking someone else’s prescription,” says Oryem.

While supplements may boost someone’s energy and get his sexual enthusiasm back to normal, the problem is, many people are using them without seeking the advice of the physician and qualified doctors. “Ideally, any drug is supposed to be approved by us,” says the National Drug Authority’s spokesperson, Frederick Ssekyana.

“But whether it is a sexual enhancement drug or not, it should be taken under the supervision of a health worker to avoid problems.”

“You might have high blood pressure and then after having sex, you collapse. We shall continue the crackdown on illegal drug outlets, but Ugandans need to know that they must be physically checked and ask for correct information from experts before taking drugs.”

Ssekyana is quick to add that issues of sexual enhancement are largely a private affair.

“People fear to consult and nobody will probably come complaining after a dealer fleeces them off. Sometimes it could contain something that causes the problem you are trying to stop,” he says.

Ssekyana also blames the media for giving advertising space to these dealers.

“You are allowing them to give wrong messages to the vulnerable people.”

Many of these drugs are not even proven medically.

In November 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on several sexual enhancers, such as viagra or its generic version, sildenafil, which apparently flow into the private parts during sexual stimulation.

The agency warned that some enhancers might contain tainted chemicals or other dangerous drugs.

Some deaths have been reported in the US of those who have taken supplements containing diabetes drugs and fallen into a coma from low blood sugar,” Cohen said.

While no deaths have been reported in Uganda from such sexual enhancement supplements, common side effects from ingredients they may contain include stomach upset and changes in vision.