Traditional healers call for the criminalisation of the term “witchdoctor”

Traditional healers in South Africa have called for the criminalisation of the use of the word “witchdoctor”.

They say people should rather use the phrase “traditional healer”.

This is one of the recommendations adopted at the end of the 4th National Consultative Conference of the CRL Rights Commission in Pretoria.

Chairperson of the Commission Thoko Mkhwanazi Xaluva says traditional leaders have voluntarily asked to have their own peer review mechanism to regulate the sector.

“That we should work towards making sure that the term witchdoctor is seen as the K word. We have been asked that in the next five years let’s look at criminalising that term because if you are a doctor and you are practising witchcraft it’s something we don’t know where it comes from. If you are a traditional healer, you are healing people anything.”