There is a signpost in the Ngara area of Kenya's capital Nairobi that announces the presence of a herbalist whose area of specialisation is botanical medicine.

In addition to treating a wide range of diseases, this man also claims to delve into the supernatural world to sort out the demons that have troubled mankind since the beginning of time.

He is not alone. In Eastleigh Estate, another herbalist -- all the way from Pemba -- dispenses potions to cure cancer, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy, syphilis, insanity and infertility.

This particular herbalist also claims to provide love potions and to be able to help a business thrive and protect it from jealous competitors, relatives and neighbours.

Steady stream

And if the steady stream of clients flocking to their clinics is anything to go by, these herbalists are doing well for themselves. Sheikh Omar says he sees more than 50 clients on a good day. His fees vary from person to person and are negotiable.

Dr Omar, as his patients call him, claims to come from a long line of herbalists from Pemba. He claims he has skills to treat the physical body and the spirit. "To heal the physical pain, you have to treat the spirit first by combating the forces of evil that bring about the physical pain," he said.

With the cost of medical care rising beyond the reach of many people, there is a growing tendency to turn to traditional doctors who claim to balance herbal medicines with practices that border on witchcraft.

Using the media and rudimentary outdoor advertising, this emerging group of herbalists claiming to treat diseases whose cure has eluded researchers for centuries is doing good business in towns.

There are also instances of desperately ill people losing fortunes to backstreet quacks. Worse still, by the time some of the patients go to hospital after a fruitless flirtation with herbal medicine, their disease is often at such an advanced state that doctors can do little to save their lives.

Take the story of Mzee Onesmas Ouma who talked to the Sunday Nation in the Radiotherapy Department at the Kenyatta National Hospital. His problem began when what appeared to be a pimple on the left side of his cheek kept increasing in size each passing day.

By the time he sought medical help at the sub-district hospital, one side of his face was badly swollen. After tests, the doctor told him it appeared that he was suffering from a tumour and referred him to the provincial hospital.

Even there, the medical personnel could not help him and referred him to Kenyatta. After several visits to the referral hospital, he eventually got an appointment and a biopsy was done. He went for a couple of months before the results would be returned from a laboratory overseas.

The tissue samples were removed from his cheek leaving a small wound that needed daily dressing at the sub-district hospital as he awaited the test results. That is when he acted on a suggestion from a friend that would later land him in serious trouble.

"A friend convinced me that I did not need to wait for the results from Kenyatta. Instead he would introduce me to a friend who would treat me at home. I was also promised that I would be completely cured, and I would never have the need to go back to Kenyatta," Mr Ouma recalled.

The herbalist would visit him every day and clean the wound and apply his medicine. After some time, he noticed that the wound was getting bigger, but he still kept his faith in the herbalist.

"One day, I was holding the mirror to my face as the herbalist worked when I noticed maggots coming out of the wound. I was badly shaken. Even with limited knowledge, I knew the maggots meant that I was rotting away."

He kicked the herbalist out of his home and hurried to the sub-district hospital where he was hard-put to explain his absence and the festering wound. In two months, his test results were received at Kenyatta, and he was taken for surgery.

According to Dr A. Onyango of the University of Nairobi's School of Medicine, patients suffering from terminal diseases are more vulnerable to quacks masquerading as herbalists.

Dr Onyango was quick to acknowledge that there are many herbalists doing good work and complementing the role of conventional medicine. He said that some herbs dispensed by herbalists might cure some ailments that modern medicine cannot.

Strict control

"We must also remember that Africans have always depended on herbs for health care, and most of them worked. What we are saying is that without strict control herbal medicine is open to abuse," he said. "All you need today is to paint a signpost on the roadside, and you are in business."

He noted that in traditional society, the practice of herbal medicine was a skill painstakingly acquired through years of training and passed on to generations. It was more a service to the community, and profit was secondary.

"There was a clear line between a medicine-man and a witchdoctor. Even today, when you have a herbalist claiming to dispense medicine and love potions, you have every reason to be worried," he said.