Hurl brickbats at him all you want; call his social conduct inappropriate, or any other worse things, but the political activist and media practitioner that is Acie Lumumba, is never one to immobilise his mouth when his intuition compels him to speak.
Real name William Gerald Mutumanje, the colt Adventist is in the news today, for the right reasons of course.
He has come out exposing Christian pietism for befouling a discovery by a fellow Christian, having been moved by the neoteric incessant bashings of Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries leader Walter Magaya after he claimed to have found a cure for HIV and Aids.
Writing on his Twitter account, the former ZANU PF member said hate has become people’s response to each other’s effort and that the most disconcerting part of it is that it is Christians who are braying out this negativity.
“I have no idea if Magaya is telling the truth or not, but the level of detestation we have towards each other is defeating. Hate has become our default response to each other, the worst part is it’s other ‘Christians’ displaying it first,” wrote Lumumba.
I have no idea if Magaya is telling the truth or not, but the level of detestation we have towards each other is defeating. Hate has become our default response to each other, the worst part is it’s other ‘Christians’ displaying it first 🙌🏾
— #ThePeoplesChampion👊🏾🤝✊🏾 (@acielumumba) October 30, 2018
Last Sunday Prophet Walter Magaya claimed he had discovered a cure for AIDS and cancer. Announcing the discovery before local and foreign journalists at Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries in Waterfalls, Prophet Magaya said the herb was now awaiting Government approval after he had made all tests.
“Today I am glad to announce to you that we have discovered a plant with powers to cure HIV and I am the first person to discover it,” said Prophet Magaya.
“The plant is not found in any botanic records and we have engaged various medical doctors including scientists from India who are with me here and I have since approached the minister of health and child care over this and they are still to test it.
“It has been my prayer to empower people and I wanted to see those suffering from HIV and Aids receive their healing,’ he said.
He claimed that anyone who takes it will receive positive results within 14 days where CD4 count improves, adding that over time the drug reduces the viral load to undetectable levels and eventually cures someone from HIV or AIDS. He was also on record saying it is not a treatment like ARV drugs but a cure.
The government of Zimbabwe, medical bodies, health watchdogs and the public were, however, not privy in showing that they are not fans of the new cure by the man of the cloth.
On Monday the state urged people prescribed with anti-retroviral treatment (ART) to take their medication, dismissing claims by Magaya.
“There are processes and procedures that a medicine should go through before it is recognised as effective and safe to use by patients. This is done prior to registration and the results are submitted to the medicines regulator. At this point, neither the medicine register nor the register of clinical trials kept by the Ministry of Health has such a record,” Minister of Information Monica Mutsvangwa said.
Secretary for Health and Child Care Gerald Gwinji said the govt would find it onerous to license Magaya’s alleged new cure for HIV, stating that such discoveries have to undergo the requisite regulatory processes.
National AIDS Council Chief Executive officer Tapuwa Magure also jumped in, saying Magaya should first subject his herb to clinical trial before going public, which includes using the drug on animals before taking it on human beings.
Also worried about Magaya’s conduct are the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR), who have for long accused faith healers of encouraging people to dump medication on false claims they had been miraculously healed.
In a cautionary note which stemmed from the health watch dog’s information department, ZADHR said it is their conviction that any claims to cure HIV must only be made in the presence of irrefutable scientific evidence obtained through proper and ethical research methodologies.
It was also reported and confirmed that on Wednesday police forces raided Magaya’s offices to collect samples of the claimed cure.
Deputy Information minister Energy Mutodi confirmed it in a tweet.
POLICE RAID MAGAYA: I can confirm police this evening raided Prophet Walter Magaya offices to recover samples of his aguma medicine which he claims cures HIV. The raid marks the start of an investigation into this matter. Health experts say there is no cure yet.
— Hon. Energy Mutodi (MP) (@energymutodi) October 31, 2018
Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi also confirmed the raid.
“I can confirm that Magaya is assisting police with investigations in connection with enquiries the ZRP is currently conducting. It is the duty of the police to detect, investigate and prevent crime and this is precisely what we are doing,” he said.
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