By Elizabeth Nyaguyo
Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) has raised concerns over the increase of unregistered herbalists selling their stuff in the country especially in Harare’s Central Business District (CBD).
In an interview with Sly Media, ZINATHA president George Kandiero alluded that his organization is in the process of engaging the City Council as well as Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to help them in clearing off all illegal herbalists selling herbs that may cause illnesses.
“We have a plan this year, we have a council that we need to give a formal letter to them so that we have their support when we embark on this project or program,â Kandiero said.
“We are going to get an assistance from the police to go on to the streets to make sure that people are not selling herbs in the street corners.”
Kandiero went on to urge people to desist from purchasing herbs from unregistered herbalists around the CBD since most of the people after consuming these herbs they are ending up ill.
” What these people are doing is very bad because they are putting people’s lives at risk.
” We are trying to urge the public to buy herbs from authorised organizations like ours the Zinatha because we have a council and qualified people to sell these herbs.
” In Zimbabwe there is an Act of Parliament which prohibits any form of traditional healing without a valid license certified by an organization such as Zinatha.â
He went on to say that people should take these things seriously not to risk their lives by using such herbs.
“The public has to know that these side effects can be detrimental to health or even cause death because unfortunate part is that there are so many people out who are trying to make a quick money.
“With the coming of Covid-19 pandemic, everyone became a herbalist selling zumbani and others were not even close to be zumbani, Lantana Kamara possess features of zumbani but it something that is known to be poisoners.
“The general public please desist from doing that because it cannot harm only ourselves but children at home.”
