Herbalists embroiled in wrangles

Police is currently conducting a probe into the discrepancies that have for months rocked the top management of the Traditional Healers’ Association, AGA Rwanda Network, which resulted in the sacking of some of the senior managers of the organisation.Among those that were sacked last week is the vice president, Daniel Gafaranga, the secretary, Modeste Nzayisenga and Eugenia Mukamacumi, the treasurer. They were all replaced in a general assembly. The suspended members accuse the president of the association, Emmanuel Rekeraho, of having connived with some committee members to swindle the association’s funds, accusations that Rekeraho vehemently denies.Supt Theos Badege, the police spokesperson, said investigations are underway.“Police has started investigations and has requested the NGO (Aga Rwanda Network) to conduct an audit and come up with a report which will guide our next step,” Badege said in an interview.The investigations were triggered by a complaint filed by the sacked officials seeking police intervention to probe the matter which they claim the association has failed to resolve amicably.Gafaranga accuses the committee’s president of being autocratic and trying to control the association’s funds as his personal property.In an interview, he said Rekeraho and his colleagues approached different members of the association across the country soliciting funds and getting cows which he put to personal use instead of developing the organisation.He further accuses Rekeraho of shifting the organisation’s head office from the former premises in Nyarugenge District to his own home area in Kamonyi District in the Southern Province to the chagrin of the suspended members. “What we need is intervention of the Auditor General to assess exactly how the organisation’s money was spent. He created different accounts especially in Bank of Kigali and many others which he uses to channel unknown sums of money from the members,” Gafaranga said.He added that they had earlier requested to have an independent audit firm to evaluate the organisation but Rekeraho rejected the proposal.The organization today has 2700 members in the country and according to Gafaranga, one would be required to pay between Rwf80, 000-110,000 to become a member and acquire training on modern methods of processing the herbs.The organisation started last year with a provisional accreditation issued by the Ministry of Health.The main objective of the association is to enhance the traditional medical practice in the country as well as modernising the practice of traditional medicine in observance of established hygiene standards.In an exclusive interview, Emmanuel Rekeraho who has headed the association since its creation claims that after they were accredited, they did not have the money to run the association adding that he used his own money to fund its operations.He said that, for example, the Ministry of Health requested them to get the actual number of all herbalists in the country a process that cost Rwf14 million which they did not readily have. “We borrowed the money we used from some people and we had to pay it back later,” he said.He explained that the organisation collected Rwf 30 million from the members of which Rwf14 million was used to refund the previously borrowed money, adding that the balance went to other organisation activities.“They lied to Police that I had disappeared to Uganda with Rwf70 million. They requested that we should resign as a committee to pave way for auditing which I rejected,” Rekeraho said. According to sources, the Rwf70 million was allegedly a grant the association received from World Health Organisation.“I have been calling those people to come and discuss and sort out these issues amicably but they remained elusive until the general assembly gathered and decided to replace them,” he said.Asked about the cows allegedly acquired from members he said, “It’s true I went to Nyagatare and some people gave me six cows...these were not given to the organisation, but to me as a person.”On the issue of shifting the offices, he said the landlord had sold the house which compelled them to move and since he owned houses in Kamonyi, he said it was not feasible to continue renting, hence the decision to relocate.When contacted, Patrice Mwesigye, an official in the Ministry of Health in charge of traditional medics said poor leadership was responsible for the squabbles within the association, adding that he has advised them to go to other authorities to resolve their issues.He said organisation will never develop if they continue having such misunderstandings saying they need to promote the use of herbal medicine and not conflicts.“Their problem is about leadership; they do not have respect for one another. I called them in my office and advised them to focus on developing traditional medicine in the country and leave those personal conflicts.” “As a ministry, we are not involved in resolving their issues now; they should go to other authorities.”He added that they would only intervene if the issues at hand were about poor service delivery which can jeopardise people’s lives but since these are personal conflicts, they cannot intervene.

National

Herbalists embroiled in wrangles