Our chiefs are lying, we openly smoke mbanje - Binga villagers

Ordinary villagers in Binga have attacked their traditional leaders for claiming that it was a myth that the district is highly associated with smoking mbaje.

Villagers said they would openly smoke mbanje as most of them had been brought up using the drug.

"I have never smoked any of these tobacco generated cigarettes, I don't even drink alcohol, I only smoke mbanje, I was brought up smoking mbanje and I don't see myself stopping any time soon, it is part of our culture and tradition.

"It is rather surprising that our traditional leaders are distancing themselves from mbanje while in actual fact they know that even our ancestors used to engage in this. We were even advised that mbanje strengthens our immune system, why then should it be wrong today," said a villager from the Siachilaba area.

A 72-year-old villager claimed that mbanje was a "good" medicine for diseases such as cancer, headaches and high blood pressure.

"I come from a family of traditional healers and I can tell you that both my father and grandfather taught me that mbanje is a cure for a number of ailments which include cancer, headaches and high blood pressure.

"They further taught me that this drug also strengthens our bones hence naturally due to this knowledge I won't hesitate to prescribe mbanje for any of my patients, even my children are now mbanje smokers considering all these health benefits," boasted the 72-year-old man.

However, traditional leaders in the district vehemently distance themselves from their association with the "holy leaf".

Chief Saba said the mbanje myth was similar to the witchcraft myth which over the years had been attached to people of Binga.

"It also surprises me how this myth has gone for all this time unaddressed. I grew up here, herded cattle here and now I am a chief of this very area but what I can tell you is that never in my lifetime have I seen a mbanje plant or a mbanje plantation.

"Maybe they might be there but they are all illegal and if anyone is found with such they will surely be arrested.

"However, I feel something has to be done in terms of rebranding the district because as traditional leaders if we sit back and allow people to say such of our area then we surely are not going anywhere," said Chief Saba.

Chief, Pashu said "As for beliefs that mbanje is smoked in the district on medical grounds it is also shocking because in my entire life I am still yet to come across a local healer who actually prescribes mbanje for his or her patients," said Chief Pashu.

Senior headman Tembo from Saba village concurred with the two traditional leaders saying each village had in place traditional police officers who were tasked with weeding out any individual who dealt in mbanje in a bid to cleanse the district's image.

"We know that people look down upon us by spreading such myths therefore in a bid to solve this we have increased our monitoring mechanism, we can't have people spreading unfounded myths," said Headman Tembo.