Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
slowly and match his quiet tone. “I have heard about Babu, for many weeks now. And I've
talked to many people who tell me they have been cured of minor ailments. But I haven't
spoken to anybody who has gone to see him for more serious conditions. Like cancer. Or
HIV. So I want to talk to people who have and find out what their experience is.”
Gedeon introduces the other man and woman, who have said almost nothing. He explains
they are his clients; both are HIV positive, both are taking ARV therapy. Each visited Mwas-
apilainNovember2010,monthsbeforehebecamefamous.Afterdrinkingthemedicine,they
stopped ARV treatment for a matter of weeks. Their CD4 counts began to drop, so they re-
sumedtherapy.Bothappear tobelucky—discontinuing ARVscanallow thevirustodevelop
a resistance to the drugs—but both feel healthy after resuming their ARV treatment.
In the car on our way back to the guesthouse, Jotham clucks his tongue and tells me that
neither patient seems to have strong faith.
The next morning, we meet Madame Kashe and Dr. Omari again, and this time I interview
three patients. The first, Margaret, has type II diabetes, but her blood sugar has normalized
since drinking Mwasapila's liquid last fall. She also lost over 50 kilograms. Gedeon and Ma-
dame Kashe both suggest that she continue a low-sugar, low-starch diet.
The other two patients have similar stories to the two I spoke with the night before, the
difference being that they both have marginally improved CD4 counts.
Jothamwatchestheinterviewwithdecreasinginterestfromthesideoftheroom,andwhen
he steps out to make a phone call, I ask bluntly: “Do you know any HIV patients who went
to Babu and got sick or died?” Gedeon tells me that just three weeks ago, a man from Wasso
died. I ask if he was friends with either patient, and it turns out he was the secretary of their
HIV-positive support group. They say he was a good man and a friend.
His name, as it turns out, was Francis Tesha.
A few days later, I speak with Francis's sister Flora over the phone and hear his full story.
She tells me that shortly after Francis left the hospital in February, he was struck by another
bout of opportunistic infections and left bedridden. He lost all hope. He couldn't eat and re-
fused ARVs. He coughed constantly from tuberculosis. Flora recounts, “We brought him to
the hospital on April 12, and this time, he did not get out until he died.” Now Flora tries to
warn people away from Mwasapila. “You can't stop someone from going to Babu, but the
factisthatallofthepeoplewhowenttodrinkthemedicineregretitnow.Manyofthemhave
died. I get so angry when I see somebody going there to drink that medicine.”
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
—
Hosea 4:6 (quoted in an editorial in a Kenyan paper, advising people not to visit
Mwasapila)
