The folowing article is the English version of an article from the German
Magizin "Der Spiegel".
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,470231,00.html
THE QUACK IN GAMBIA
African Despot 'Cures' AIDS
By Marco Evers
The president of Gambia is causing a stir with his claim to be able to cure
AIDS. Hardly anyone in the country dares challenge him and, unfortunately, many
actually believe him.
It's hard to make a name for yourself as a tyrant in Africa; the standards are
pretty high. Jean B嶮el Bokassa of the Central African Republic, believing
himself to be the thirteenth apostle, had himself crowned emperor and is said
to have enjoyed the occasional meal of human flesh. In Congo, the kleptocrat
Mobutu Sese Seko built an airstrip for his chartered Concorde jets in the
middle of the rain forest. Now, the president of the West African state of
Gambia is doing his best to add his name to the list.
Yahya Jammeh, 41 years old, has been the president of bitterly poor Gambia
since seizing power in a putsch in 1994. In the three so-called elections since
then, he has not relinquished his seat. Among his achievements to date have
been giving Gambia's 1.6 million citizens an impressive triumphal arch -- just
like Napoleon gave the French -- as well as founding Gambia's first and only
university.
Now he has gone a step further. A few weeks ago, Jammeh summoned his followers
and a few ambassadors, dignitaries and TV reporters to announce in a garbled
address that, having made some fantastic discoveries, he is now capable of
curing AIDS (as well as asthma). The president admitted to his astonished
audience that the therapies still had a few limitations -- he could only cure
AIDS on Thursdays. Asthma, on the other hand, could be treated only on Fridays
and Saturdays.
An estimated 20,000 Gambians -- about 1.2 percent of the population -- are
infected with HIV. Jammeh claims to have successfully treated nine of them in
January, and 27 more in February. He takes equal pride in the 500 asthma
victims that he's cured. And he promises to take action soon to eliminate other
diseases, since he claims to have a "mandate" -- apparently from none other
than God himself.
International aid organizations are horrified to find that thousands of
infected Gambians are hoping to be treated by the president. Jammeh says he'll
heal anyone, young or old. He won't take payment, but he does make one
stipulation: those who are taking anti-viral medication must stop doing so
immediately. Two respected HIV/AIDS experts promptly handed in their
resignation in protest.
Dressed in white from head to toe, the head of state stands before his
patients, mumbling prayers and waving the Koran. Then Jammeh rubs green glop on
their skin, sprinkles them with gray liquid from an old Evian bottle and gives
them something yellow to drink. Bananas -- administered orally -- round off the
treatment. After repeating the procedure for several weeks, he proclaims the
patients healed. All of them. Without exception.
The trouble with despots
Jammeh explains that the method, based on the healing properties of seven herbs
and Koranic prayers, is "foolproof." While he prefers to perform the healing
sessions in public in front of TV cameras, he's willing to grant religious and
social dignitaries private audiences.
Critical questions, on the other hand, are not welcome. A British correspondent
from the Sky News network suggested Jammeh ought to have his method tested by
independent experts. The president snapped back at her: "I don't have to
convince anyone. I can heal AIDS and don't have to explain anything." He was
visibly flustered by her request to analyze a sample of his herbal mixture.
"Not in a million years," was his reply.
The trouble with despots is that no one dares disagree. The Daily Observer, a
Gambian daily, commented without the slightest hint of irony that the
president's "invention" was "the greatest ever witnessed in our modern world."
Soon, the paper wrote, millions of people would be coming to the country to be
healed. Gambians can look forward to an economic boom that could put them light
years ahead of countries whose wealth is based on mere diamonds, gold or oil.
The country's health minister is a gynaecology graduate, trained in Ukraine and
Ireland. Forty-three-year-old Tamsir Mbowe is always present when the statesman
tries out his healing skills -- and even though he really ought to know better,
he too praises what he calls the "president's intervention in the health
sector." Mbowe even claims that Jammeh's ability to heal any patient has been
"medically proven."
Far from it: The health ministry collected blood samples to prove Jammeh's
wondrous healing powers and sent them to a laboratory in neighboring Senegal.
While the ministry insists that the results offer clear proof of the
president's healing powers, the Senegalese scientist who carried out the tests
disagrees emphatically. He says no conclusions can be drawn because the
Gambians didn't test the blood prior to the president's pseudo-medical
intervention.
A United Nations representative in Gambia dared to assert that there was no
proof of successful healings. She also cautioned the supposedly cured patients
not to believe that they're no longer capable of spreading HIV.
President Jammeh responded promptly to these remarks: having branded the UN
representative persona non grata, he gave her 48 hours to leave his country --
which she did. In the view of the Daily Observer, her comments had been
"irresponsible".
No continent is as badly ravaged by AIDS as Africa. Roughly 25 million people
have been infected, and 12 million children are AIDS orphans. The epidemic has
been spreading for decades. In many places, traditional healers are paid more
heed than university-trained doctors. Millions of men believe sex with a virgin
will cure them of AIDS. South African president Thabo Mbeki has openly
questioned whether the HIV virus in fact causes AIDS. His former vice president
Jacob Zuma had unprotected sex with an infected woman in 2005 and later told a
court that, having showered after the act, no risk was involved.
Some members of Gambia's parliament are cautiously voicing concern that the
president may be insane. Doing all he can to confirm this impression, the self-
styled AIDS healer is now claiming to have discovered his fortune-telling
skills. He claims to be able to predict a person's moment of death, after a
single look in their eyes.
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