Sex As A Cure?

May 16, 2002

Hey kid, come here. Say, would you pass me a fire brand from the kitchen to light my cigarette?— Kasule, a demented young man in Kiguli village, Nkozi, Mpigi district, asked.

Hey kid, come here. Say, would you pass me a fire brand from the kitchen to light my cigarette?— Kasule, a demented young man in Kiguli village, Nkozi, Mpigi district, asked.The little boy picked a firebrand, passed it on to Kasule and then left in a hurry — the madman was unpredictable.In no time, a keen breeze from nearby Lake Victoria, a blazing midday sun and a very dry thatch was all the firebrand needed to do its work.Apart from a grandfather as old as Methuselah, everybody else had gone a-fishing or gardening.For all his madness, Kasule could recognise danger when he saw it, but could not get out of it. He died a slow painful death, his wails mixing sadly with the desperate bleating of the goats, roasting furiously. Shortly, the kitchen collapsed in a heap as Kasule’s sad life climaxed in a tragic conclusion.For Haruna Kibirige, life came to a standstill. This was the third son to get demented and something had to be done.He hired a witchdoctor, Buwembo of Nkozi to help him out.Buwembo obliged but announced that it would not make sense to treat only the sick. He would also administer preventive prescriptions to the rest of the huge family or else the evil spirits troubling the sick boys would be transferred to some other member of the family. Sh60,000 would be enough and would Kibirige please deposit sh15,000?Buwembo moved to Katiko village where he administered treatment to the sick boy, then living with Kibirige’s brother, Bumali Kawooya.At 11:00 p.m., he arrived at Kibirige’s home where the entire family — over 20 people, had gathered. He asked for some waragi, which he was given. As he sipped his booze, he addressed the family.Buwembo had five rules of procedure. Very strict rules. Two were merely ritualistic, but the three were a bit unusual.First, all patients, except the babies would be treated in the coffee plantation. No one would be allowed to leave the house while treatment was in progress outside.Two, whatever you see in the treatment area — a huge snake, a long-feathered creature or a big ghost— keep it to yourself, “or else my soldiers will deal with you”.Three, don’t you women dare come with your panties on; do you hear? Everyone had heard.Buwembo started with the babies — six of them. He administered some strange concoctions and smeared their bodies with some jelly-like stuff.Then he went out with Aisha, a 12-year old. He gave her a horn to hold, took her outside, had her undress and gave her a gallon of water to wash her private parts thrice.He smeared her body with the jelly like stuff and then announced:I’m going to administer this medicine in your private parts,” he said. He unzipped his fly, laid her on her back and spread her legs...Ten or 15 minutes later, the “ treatment” was over. He told the little girl to keep mum and go straight to bed.“You are next.” He pointed to Kibirige’s second wife, Kasifa and handed her the horn. As he talked, he munched on some leaves, pausing regularly to sip from his bottle.Kasifa followed him out. The procedure was repeated: undressing and washing of the private parts thoroughly, thrice.“ Now hold me — put your arms around me.” She obliged, still clutching the horn. He moved behind her, shell in hand and pressed her back with the right, as his hand moved to her private parts, caressing them expertly and soon proceeded to do the needful.But Kasifa grabbed him by the neck, slapped him hard and marched into the house, protesting to her husband who dismissed her pleas. Buwembo silently sipped his drink, munched on the leaves like a happy rabbit and ordered the third woman out.In all, Kibirige’s two wives, his sister, four daughters and one daughter-in-law received the “treatment,” each lasting 20 or 30 minutes. The daughter-in-law did not complete the treatment. She had given birth three months earlier and Buwembo declared her unfit for treatment since her private parts were still very tender, following childbirth — she would get treated later. Some day.The boys and men’s treatment lasted just a minute or two each.By 4:00a.m, little Aisha was having severe abdominal pains and decided she would not die in silence. She spilled the beans and showed the women her private parts, now bleeding profusely. Fear and superstition were thrown out the window and rage took over. Slaps and blows rained on the witchdoctor.A medical examination on little Aisha proved she had been defiled. Today, Buwembo is enjoying the hospitality of the Uganda Prisons Service.Witchdoctors in Nkozi sub-county are having a great time with their female patients — either having sexual intercourse with them or marrying them outright.“Most of these ‘wives’ are very young girls,” says Evaristo Ssembatya, Kiguli LC1 chairman.Many of them actually leave the witchdoctor’s den ‘cured’ but as soon as they get back home, the spirits attack once again, they relapse dangerously and are returned to ‘hospital’.As the cycle repeats itself, soon the witchdoctor asks her hand in marriage. The girls find themselves between the devil and the sea. “In their condition, no one would marry any of those witchdoctors,” says Ssembatya. “Those girls come from families wealthy far beyond the witchdoctor’s means.”Many women seek love potions, others wealth and health for their families, others seek vengeance on their enemies, usually co-wives.Part of the problem is that religious institutions in the area are very weak. The Catholics seem to enjoy the lion’s share of faithfuls. The church so far has no solutions for many of the problems that drive people to witchdoctors.“No study has been carried out in Uganda on this subject by psychologists,” submits Simon Nantamu, an Assistant Lecturer at the Makerere University department of psychology.“But witchdoctors having sexual intercourse with their clients is not surprising, especially when the women’s education levels are low. The witchdoctors use their understanding of people’s minds, what goes on in their lives (workplace, neighbourhood or polygamous homes) to manipulate the thought process,” says Nantamu. Ends

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