Nadduli's homecoming party with traditional healers

Traditional healers thanked President Yoweri Museveni for giving a ministerial post to one of their own; Minister without portfolio, Abdul Nadduli.

They said it is the most meaningful ministerial appointment that Museveni has ever made.

"For the first time, he considered traditional healers and gave us a ministerial post. All along there has been no traditional healer in government," said Karim Walyabira the chairman of Uganda N'eddagala Lyayo, the umbrella association of traditional healers in Uganda.

Nadduli who is the former Luweero LC5 Chairman received a thunderous welcome from hundreds of traditional healers who hosted him to a congratulatory party that they organized at Nakkazi Hill near Luweero town on Thursday.

Flanked by his wife and some of his children, Nadduli arrived amid wild drumming and singing of traditional songs by his pipe smoking hosts who donned bark cloth attire and wore fetishes.

On arrival, Nadduli's hosts who addressed him as their patron, dressed him in a cream tunic (kanzu) and a bark cloth bandana and later presented him a goat, a sheep and a stick.

Walyabira hailed President Museveni for his wisdom that enabled him appoint Nadduli as a minister.

"For the first time in history, Uganda has a good leader who thinks" he added.

At the ceremony, Nadduli performed a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a cathedral by the traditional religion believers on Nakkazi hill.

Walyabira attacked foreign religions for wanting to suppress traditional religion.

"Our friends flew in with their Gods and thought they would make ours (gods) extinct," Walyabira said, adding that traditional religion was firm.

Walyabira refuted accusations that traditional healers were behind cases of human sacrifice in the country, blaming the vice on impersonators who disguise as traditional healers.

Nadduli receives gifts from the traditional healers. Photo by Frederick Kiwanuka

Nadduli who confessed to be a herbal healer, said he used to treat fighters during the NRA guerrilla war in the 1980s with herbal medicine.

Nadduli attacked those who shun traditional healing saying they were naïve.

"There are diseases that cannot be treated at Mulago or Nsambya, and can only be treated in the shrines," Nadduli said.

Nadduli said that because of naivety, some people were regarding traditional healing as being evil.

"I know they will criticize me when they learn through the media that I have attended this function, but I am ready to counter them," Nadduli said.

Nadduli said he would use he would use his ministerial position to streamline traditional healing by eliminating impostors and conmen.

He refuted rumors that he got a raw deal for being appointed a minister without portfolio. He said his ministry puts him in third position after the President and the Prime Minister because it traverses all ministries.

"We are three of us who top of the administrative hierarchy, the first one is His Excellency the President, followed by the Prime Minister who is leader of government business. The third one is me," Nadduli triumphantly said.