Kenya: Witch doctors have hit headlines on several media for their services to society in the recent past. Thieves have been arrested or lynched after feeding on grass as a result of revelations from witchdoctors. We can’t dispute that, but it’s only better if we were able to tell between sincere and false witchdoctors.

Procedures that witchdoctors employ in their magic have remained a puzzle for a very long time. One wonders whether their procedures are approved by any scientific theory.

Two weeks ago, Kakamega County health executive Penina Mukabane warned witchdoctors in the county to stop their activities or try their business elsewhere as they mislead locals not to take the sick to hospitals.

Sometime last year, Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu banned foreign witchdoctors in the county since they were causing fear among residents.

Posters advertising services of witchdoctors are almost in each part of the country, especially in major towns and cities.

Statistics reveal that women are more prone to witchdoctors than men. The question we need to ask ourselves is: are witchdoctors rich? A few individuals who have had first-hand experience with witchdoctors confess that some seem to be more desperate than their clients.

In some places however, witchdoctors are adored and valued especially where their services are used to nab thieves. This alone is not reason enough for them to continue administering their services when there are better ways of solving the same problem.

Some jealous husbands have sought services of witchdoctors to tame their adulterous wives and vice versa, as cases of lovers getting stuck in the sexual act hit headlines. Cases have been reported of some married men complaining of failing to function when they try to make love with a mpango wa kando, due to perceived powers of witchdoctors.

Witchdoctors make a lot of money out of such ventures, in a case of a ‘stuck’ pair; one will demand a hefty amount in order to set the two free.

Some Kenyans also use such scenes (where two love birds are stuck) to solicit funds from residents who would wish to witness the act, as they continue to collect cash from the crowd.

Cases have been reported of some desperate job seekers opting to become witchdoctors as a result of joblessness and practice it as a business hence soliciting money from innocent people who are burdened most likely by marital problems, loss of property among many domestic problems.

Traditionally among the Bukusu people, witchdoctors were relevant in that context as they worked as laboratories and X-rays to interpret human life and give directions on how a person could be assisted as there were no hospitals and scientific apparatus for reading peoples illnesses and other social problems.

They were useful initially as they interpreted people’s life including spiritual talent and gave directions on how a person could be assisted to nurture his talent. They would break bonds sealed by witches, kill dangerous reptiles used to bewitch people and burn materials kept by witches to create trouble.

The current witchdoctors have changed the tune and have turned the whole idea into business. It is said that some witchdoctors take advantage of suffering women who run to them and harass them sexually in the name of assisting them come out of their problems.

It’s time people wake up and follow the right channels of solving problems in the community. The law is the best option where police conduct investigations and suspects charged accordingly.

Hospitals are currently well equipped with modern equipment and drugs for treatment of all diseases. Religion is another option where a person can seek God’s intervention. No need to despair, the doors are always open as long as you knock at the right door.