[UAH] Bukedde:Who is the 84 year-old Brother/Father Anatoli Wasswa of Banakarooli Brothers of Kiteredde ho is also a priest

Dear Editors

On June 9th Heroes Day President Museveni awarded Brother/Father Anatoli Wasswa a Hero's medal at a colourful ceremony at Nakaseke. Bukedde of June 10 published Bro/Fr Anatoli's picture and that of President Museveni together on front page.

But who is Bro/Fr Anatoli Wasswa. He is a most famous member of the Catholic Banakarooli Brothers based at Kiteredde, Rakai District. He became a Brother in 1947 and an ordained priest in 1977 thus he is addressed Brother/Father.

His fame is based on the fact that he is the first person to be a religious person of the Catholic religious congregation but at the same time openly practising Africa Traditional herbal medicine. He is a Brother/Priest at the same time an African Traditional herbalist, he is a musawo Muganda.

 He is most famous for having effectively detached traditional herbal medicine from witch-craft. He carried out reserach after being appointed in 1981 by the Ctholic Church to spearhead the fight against witch-craft which was combining herbal medicine with spirits worshiping(okusamira).

As a result of his his preaching against witch-craft many former infamous wiotch-doctors like the late Jane Nkafeero,Elia Paul Kayiira, Jemba Paul Bikwaro, Patrick Kigozi, abandoned witch-craft and openely announced that witch-craft, okusamira, is a pack of lies and tricks. These former witch-doctors descirbed in minutes details how witch-doctors are recruited and trined in trick and lies telling. they showed how the shrines,amasabo , are cunningly built tohide spirits assistants who together with the witch-doctor excell in voice imitation to sound like spirits thereby hoodwincking the population to believe that there are spirits in the shrines.

Born in 1926 in Singo county, Bro/Fr Anatoli is a qualifried teacher who was trained at Busubizi TTC.

He has built the first fully fledged modern herbal medicine hospital at Kiteredde which has now been turned into a world-famous Museum displaying all the tricks and gimmicks withch-doctors use to hoodwicnk the gullibole popluation.

He runs a herbal medicine clinic in Kampala at Kibuye Rround about and dispenses herbal medicine and cure what they call endwadde Enganda by simply giving out herbal medicine without involving the supernatural(okusamira).

As a result today the number of Ugandans keeping spirits shrine at the back of their residence has greately been reduced And no Ugandans are today proudly wearing fetishes on their arms or waists. The practice of witch-craft has gretely reduced.

A book titled, THE LIFE HISTORY OF BRO/FR ANATOLI WASSWA HOW HE DEMYSTFIED HERBAL MEDICINE. is about to be published. It shows how former witch-doctors Nakafeero, Elia Kayiira and Jemba Bikwaro were recruited and trained in lies an tricks performance and how they have revealed all the trrick of the profession.

By Henry Ford Mirima