Cape Town — A British former clairvoyant and three Ugandans have been charged with distributing a liquid called Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) to villagers in poor areas, which they claimed cured HIV, malaria and cancer, The Guardian reports.

Sam Little, from Arlesey in Bedfordshire, Tim Tom, a pastor at Fort portal Christian fellowship, and herbalists Samuel Albert and Samula Tadeo were arrested after it was reported in May that their network, led by American pastor Robert Baldwin and part-funded by Little, was giving the 'miracle cure' to up to 50,000 Ugandans.

Poor Ugandans, including infants as young as 14 months old, were being given chlorine dioxide, an oxidizing agent used in water treatment and in bleaching that has no known health benefit and can be extremely dangerous.

The three Ugandans that were operating in Kabarole and Fort portal in western Uganda, were also charged with two more counts of being in unlawful possession of a narcotic drug and also smoking a narcotic drug.

The Ugandan police have revealed that samples of the solution were found "to contain a dangerous toxin that is harmful for human consumption" , encouraging those who still have the mixture to hand it over to the police or visit a registered medical facility for review of their cases.

The United States Food and Drug Administration is said to have issued a public warning that advises anyone with MMS to stop using it.

The agency said several people have reported sickness after ingesting the chemical, suffering nausea, diarrhea and potentially life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration.

The men face up to 10 years in jail and a fine if found guilty of distributing impure drugs and another 10-year jail term if convicted of unlawful possession of narcotics.