SOMETHING has to be done fast to stop unscrupulous foreign traditional healers from entering the country and committing all sorts of sordid crimes.
Of late, there has been a sharp rise in the number of traditional healers committing crimes including murdering Zambians who had fallen prey at the hands of these crooks.
The media is replete with stories of unsuspecting Zambians being killed or in some cases swindled out of millions of Kwacha after being deceived by fake traditional healers.
Such traditional healers must be nipped in the bud because their activities have become a source of great concern. If left unchecked, the situation might get worse.
A ago week ago a Lusaka house wife was allegedly raped and killed by a foreign traditional healer at a graveyard in Kabangwe where they were supposed to perform a ritual at night.
Upon investigations, the healer in question was traced, arrested and later he led police to the graveyard where the woman’s body was later found.
Strangely, the man had the audacity to drive around in the deceased’s car after only changing registration plates of her car!
This simply shows the degree of impunity with which he committed the crime. He was sure to get away with his criminality.
That’s how serious the situation has become, people being deceived and consequently ending up brutally killed for nothing.
We doubt if people committing these crimes are registered members of the Traditional Health Practitioners Association of Zambia (TPHAZ). If they are, then the association has to stand up and protect its image which is being soiled by such people.
The leadership of the association certainly has an uphill battle in dealing with those who are masquerading as legitimate practitioners yet are on the prowl, pouncing on unsuspecting desperate citizens to make quick bucks.
What is mindboggling though, is how some these people manage to deceive immigration officials at the country’s border posts. Or do they?
The activities of those who come in legally, if at all they do, should be strictly monitored as way to protect citizens from these ‘vultures’ who are taking advantage of people to commit despicable crimes.
We therefore urge TPHAZ to work hand in hand with government to flush out fake practitioners before more lives are lost. Enough is enough.
But we implore all citizens, especially our women folk to be careful and avoiding falling prey to fraudsters who deceive them with promises of prosperity or marital bliss by performing weird rituals in graveyards.
