Botswana, haven for Malawian swindler witchdoctors

Mallick Mnela
Correspondent | Thursday October 13, 2011 00:00

Now, earning the title doctor is much easier than it used to be. For instance, a young man who can gather a few herbs from some bushes in Malawi can earn that title. If he can muster more courage and dare trek down south, not only can he earn the respectable title of doctor, but can also create a shortcut to financial prosperity.Among many people who migrate to foreign countries, most prefer to become witchdoctors, claiming that those of Malawian origin are better than cheats and quacks from other African countries.

Once they get to their country of choice - mostly Botswana and South Africa - they learn to be streetwise from masters of the game.There is much to learn - from marketing to psychology. However, the learning is more practical than theoretical. For instance, one has to learn the art of copy writing. You might have read something like: 'I am an African spiritual-healer, psychic. I can help you solve all your problems.... I can also help you bring your husband or wife back and break the following: - bad luck and curses.'

They also claim to be able to cure impotence, addiction and infertility, and to bring good luck during job interviews.Take Ibrahim Shaibu, who hails from Machinga in the eastern part of Malawi. The man does not show any remorse for his work as a fake witchdoctor.Hundreds of people from his area, travel to Mzansi, as South Africa is fondly known, or to Botswana in search of a better life every year. 'It's not like we are always giving out fake herbs. What I personally do is quite different to many people. I acknowledge I am not a born traditional healer, but I buy herbs from reputable traditional medicine-men. I carefully label such prescriptions', Shaibu says in an impromptu interview held at the Immigration Offices in Blantyre where he was renewing his travel documents.

He says he has done well financially because his medication has worked for most of his clients - earning him more customers through word of mouth.But not all has been truthful, he says, regrettably.'It's tempting really. There was this other time when I helped a woman find a partner. It worked and she came back to me seeking help to have a child. I couldn't confess my incompetence in this area. I gave her some fake stuff and nothing happened. She kept coming and I kept telling her she had messed up the instructions. I didn't like it,' narrates Shaibu. This was in Soweto, South Africa.

The Soweto client later confronted him leading to a row that saw him being arrested and deported. He says he has since changed strategy to provide herbs that he knows work well. He says he changed strategy after he started feeling remorseful about the way he was swindling people of their hard-earned money.'I could feign an intercession with the spirits. But this was sheer thievery,' he says.He says he felt bad living off people's illnesses and discovered that he had become someone he disliked.  Although the 34-year-old fits well in the category of quack witchdoctors with a blotted history, he is better than many others in this trade.

'Many of my colleagues credit their success to bigger scams. For example, in their unrelenting search for success, some go the extra mile to lie that they can multiply money ten-fold. When the client brings the money they distract him with all sorts of nonsense before running off with the loot,' he said.From this business, Shaibu has built a modern house and set up a big grocery business back home.

He also drives a 'third-hand' Japanese imported vehicle, a great achievement for a semi-literate person like him in Malawi, one of the world's 10 least developed countries. He said other than South Africa, Botswana is also a country where some Malawian quack witchdoctors are transforming their lives - real 'rags-to-riches' stories.A woman witchdoctor based in Malawi's commercial capital, Nangozo, also told this reporter that she now gets orders from Malawian witchdoctors plying their trade in foreign countries, like Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

'Most orders are for love portions, gondolosi and Nthubulo (aphrodisiac herbs) and some herbs used for healing sexually transmitted infections (STDs),' she said, claiming the orders by these people make better business sense than selling to local clientele.She further claims that her merchandise sells like hot cakes in neighbouring countries.

'Sometimes we communicate over the phone when the herbs are finished.I send the herbs via one of the international buses and theycollect them at Park Station in Johannesburg,' she adds. But while selling the herbs does not constitute a crime, police publicist for southern Malawi, Senior Superintendent Davie Chingwalu said police are on the look-out for quack healers who want to steal on the altar of unbridled greed.

'We have arrested people committing such offences in the past. As the country's law enforcers, we will not hesitate to take action whenever such an offence is committed,' Chingwalu said. In Malawi, cases of swindler witchdoctors have often been reported in the media. The cases are linked to sexual abuse, theft by trickery or forgery, Chingwalu says. (Sila Press Agency)