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Some of the
women experienced pregnancy symptoms for 15 months Image credit: BBC
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Police in Guinea are
expected to charge a traditional healer with endangering the lives of people
under false pretense after she allegedly gave sterile women a concoction to
make them pregnant.
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Ms N’Fanta
Camara, accusing her of being a "trickster" defends herself from the
allegations Image credit: BBC
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About
200 women from the Dabompa area on the outskirts of the capital, Conakry, were
present at the paramilitary police's anti-criminal department following the
arrest of N’Fanta Camara, accusing her of being a "trickster". She
denies any wrongdoing
The
women are just some of the victims who were allegedly given potions that had
adverse medical effects on them.
The
victims said they experienced pregnancy symptoms for 12 to 16 months but found
they were not pregnant after medical examination.
Ms
Camara had allegedly told the women not to seek medical advice.
Police
doctor Mamadouba Camara, who examined more than 40 women, says they are likely
to suffer long term negative consequences as a result of the treatment.
One
of the women told me about her experience:
“It’s been a
year now since we first went to see this woman. During our first visit she gave
us some medicines of leaves and herbs that made us vomit and [we] frequented
the toilet a lot. She assured us that this was good for us as long as these
were the reactions we were experiencing.
“On a second
visit, she gave us some more herbs and leaves which we boiled and drank. As one
continues to take these medicines, the stomach starts to rise a bit. After a
while, we visited again. She examined us by just touching our bellies and she
declared us pregnant.
“However,
she gives us strict instructions not to go to the hospital because no doctor
can treat this pregnancy because they can’t even see it. We experienced our
normal menstrual cycle during this period, and some of our colleagues told us
that they bled profusely during their cycle.
“On the day
she declares any woman pregnant, we give her a set of wrappers and a hen, after
initially having paid her 300,000 francs (US$564; £408) for the entire
process.”
Ms
Camara spoke to journalists in Sousou, the Guinean lingua franca, saying that
she administers the treatment but leaves it to "God" to give the
women children.
“The women
who come to me, the first question I ask them is whether they believe in God. I
ask them that question and tell them that it is only God that gives children to
women and not me. I don’t normally wait for their replies but we start the
process. I work very hard to help them realize their dream but the rest is in
the hands of God.”
The
head of the anti-criminal department, Moussa Tiergboro Camara, alleged that the
traditional healer has been making a lot of money from her victims:
“If we take
the proportion of 50 women visiting her daily, then she makes 450 francs (US$846,
£613) a month. As such, she is capable of constructing a... building out of
these women’s cash. ”
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