'Ditch ARVS,' HIV-positive man instructs family

WHILE other people see HIV and Aids as a curse and something one should be ashamed of, a man from New Lobengula suburb in Bulawayo who with his daughter (23) and her two sons aged nine and five years old respectively are all infected with HIV sees it as a challenge that his ancestors trusted him to overcome.

For him being HIV positive is not a death sentence and for that reason he had since stopped his daughter and her two children from taking antiretroviral (ARV) drugs claiming he had received a cure from his ancestors to end the pain and suffering they were going through.

The 48-year-old man whose name is being withheld to protect his daughter and her two sons disclosed his claim of cure to B-Metro saying his ancestors revealed to him in a dream the "wonder" herbs that can cure HIV Aids and numerous other diseases and ailments.

He said in a dream he was directed to a bush where he got all the wonder herbs to cure the virus and from that day he immediately ordered his daughter and her two sons to stop taking ARVs.

He said through the revelation, his ancestors showed him that HIV was just a spiritual infection and that it only became physical when an infected person started to show signs and symptoms of the disease which became full-blown Aids.

"I was diagnosed with HIV some 20 years ago. I took ARVs for some time but there wasn't much help when it eventually developed into Aids. I was really troubled, after having been told by doctors that the HIV would not have developed to full-blown Aids due to early treatment," he said.

He added: "I went through all the symptoms of the virus and it was painful and unbearable. I prayed day and night and my prayers were answered six years ago, when in a dream I was shown the cure in the form of some herbs by my ancestors and that is the time I also sternly ordered my daughter and her eldest son to stop taking ARVs".

He further said he was given what he calls a strong recipe comprising different kinds of herbs which he claimed he is not allowed to share with anyone.

He steadfastly refused to divulge the name or source of the mysterious herbs.

"According to my ancestors the recipe is a sacred one hence it must be kept a secret. I can guarantee you that the mixture cures the virus immediately.

"My daughter and her two sons are a living testimony that the herbs are working. Just imagine we have not been taking any medication for the past six years but only the herbs and we are looking very healthy," he said while adding that he had since assisted a lot of people who were HIV positive.

His wife who is however, HIV negative buttressed her husband's claims saying their daughter and her two sons were no longer taking ARVs at his instigation.

"He woke up and immediately ordered our daughter and her two sons to stop taking ARVs saying his ancestors had shown him in a dream the herbs to cure HIV.

"He told us that he was directed to the path where he would get all the herbs to cure the virus," the seemingly troubled wife said.

The daughter who however, looked frail, refused to entertain an interview with B-Metro saying she was not at liberty to speak to the press about her health issues.

Meanwhile, like so many other quack cures, the story apparently preys on the desperation of people diagnosed with HIV and Aids.
And of late some Pentecostal pastors were slated for derailing the country's efforts in fighting the HIV and Aids scourge by telling HIV positive members of the church to stop using their medication and look to God to heal them.