WE as an association of Complimentary Health Practioners, which also covers traditional healers, have to support the community in this instance based on what is written in the newspaper.
We cannot understand the reason why Mr Sifuniso Linus Sitwala a.k.a “Dr Mulatiwa” needs his patients to undress, as it is not required nor practised in traditional healing.
The reason that he gives, “For them to be healed, they have to remove old clothes and put on new clothes before leaving my place” is totally absurd.
According to traditional healing and medical knowledge, illnesses, whether physical or mental, is present in the physical body and not in clothing.
This brings me to the point I raised, which was publicized in your newspaper on Tuesday the 6th of November, 2007: “Herbalist Calls for Traditional Healers’ Council”. It is now time, that a formal Complimentary health Council must be formed and formalized by the Ministry of Health, so that there can be standards and a code of ethics, under which traditional healers can fall and ensure ethical practices.
If a Council like this was in place, Dr Mulatiwa would have had the correct training, would run an ethical practice, would have been governed by a code of ethics and this unethical behaviour could have been reported to a Council which could order him to conform to required standards.
If he then refused to obey his operating licence as a complimentary health practioner could be taken away, and the fears of the Director of the Legal Assistance Centre, Mr Norman Tjombe, that “chasing him out the area would not solve the issue because he would continue wherever he might find himself”, will be addressed.
I would like to make use of the opportunity and state that, on behalf of all serious and associated complimentary health practioners, we dissociate ourselves from the actions of Dr Mulatiwa, and that we guarantee the public that this type of action does not happen within members of our practices.
Johan Potgieter Chairperson