The head of traditional healers in Lwengo District, Yasin Ssemanda Garaba, has arrested a woman identified as Gift Nawalinda for allegedly personating a witchdoctor and defrauding residents of large sums of money.
Nawalinda is accused of masquerading as a traditional healer, reportedly exploiting fear and making false promises of spiritual healing to extort money from unsuspecting residents.
According to Garaba, the suspect had operated for a considerable period without authorization, convincing individuals that their misfortunes were caused by witchcraft and demanding payment in exchange for treatment.
The arrest follows a complaint by Justine Nakakawa, a resident of Mayira village in Lwengo Sub-county, who claims she was conned out of Shs2,840,000.
Nakakawa recounted that Nawalinda initially provided her with herbs and assured her of recovery. However, when there was no improvement, she was persuaded to pay additional money for what was described as advanced treatment, including a purported arrangement to bring in a specialist from Tanzania—an arrangement that never materialized.
“She kept telling me to be patient and strong because the treatment needed time, but nothing ever changed,” Nakakawa said.
After realizing she had been deceived, Nakakawa reported the matter to the leadership of traditional healers, demanding a refund.
“She has defrauded many people. I am not the first, others have remained silent,” she added.
In her defense, Nawalinda admitted she is not a genuine witchdoctor but claimed her actions were intended to “teach people a lesson” about believing in witchcraft. She further alleged that Nakakawa had approached her seeking assistance to harm her husband—an act she says she refused.
“She wanted to kill her husband so that she takes all his riches but me I cannot kill a person. That is where I stopped,” Nawalinda said.
Following the complaints, Garaba ordered Nawalinda to refund the money to the complainant before handing her over to Lwengo Police, where she faces charges of personation and obtaining money by false pretenses.
“She has tarnished the reputation of genuine traditional healers. Whenever people are defrauded, they blame all of us,” Garaba stated.
Garaba has since intensified a crackdown on illegal shrines across the district, closing several found operating under poor hygiene conditions and in violation of regulatory standards.
Residents have welcomed the move, expressing hope that it will help curb fraud, exploitation, and crimes often associated with unregulated witchcraft practices.
Lwengo District is estimated to have over 6,000 shrines, a figure that has raised concern among local leaders over increasing cases of exploitation, ritual practices, and incidents such as child sacrifice prompting calls for stricter oversight and enforcement.