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A self-proclaimed prophet, arrested after claiming that his herbal remedies could cure people with HIV and cancer, has now secured government support for clinical trials of his controversial drug.
Walter Magaya, a leader in the group of prophetic healing and delivery ministries in Zimbabwe, appeared in court last week accusing him of producing misleading advertisements for his Zimbabwe medicines. The herald newspaper reported.
But in a surprising twist, the government released Magaya on bail and has now agreed to submit his "drug" to clinical tests, with some of his own employees in the investigation team.
Prosecutors allege that Magaya has produced television commercials for his drug Aguma, which he says could cure HIV, AIDS, cancer and other diseases. These claims were repeated on the website of his company Aretha Medical.
Magaya said his drug had undergone clinical tests proving its effectiveness, claiming to have the data checked by the Zimbabwe Drug Control Authority. But the court learned that Aguma had not even been registered with the body.
Neither Magaya nor Aretha Medical had been allowed to perform clinical tests by the country's Health Professions Authority. Instead, the preacher said his company had conducted the trials in India in partnership with local sponsors.
Announcing his "discovery", Magaya claimed to have realized the power of his drug two years ago, but kept it secret until he could muster the evidence he needed.
According to zwnews.com, Magaya told her congregation last month, "God has given me a revelation. We tested it and it's perfect. God showed me some tree and some people. We found the cure for HIV and AIDS. "
Police raided a property linked to Magaya in the capital Harare on October 31, looking for unregistered medicines, raw materials used in their production, and drug manufacturing and packaging machines.
Half-burned containers have also been found, and prosecutors say Magaya tried to destroy the evidence of his crimes by burning the packages and even tossing Aguma into the toilet. He was arrested the next day.
Despite her seemingly unfounded promotion of drugs, Magaya was released on bail and her case returned to Nov. 29. But even more surprisingly, the authorities have now agreed to conduct their own clinical trials on Aguma, with the help of Magaya.
The preacher has now withdrawn his previous claim that Aguma could cure the diseases in question, however, told reporters: "According to what the ministry has assured us, we will conduct very intense tests until we reach the end. they position themselves in the factory. . "
Zimbabwe's Minister of Health and Child Care, Obadiah Moyo, said the trials would be funded by Magaya and made up of members of his team and government officials from several independent agencies, The herald reported.
"Everyone will control themselves so that we do not go out with falsified results. We are an authority, a ministry, we are sincere and we will make sure that whatever we do is in accordance with the laws in force, "explained Moyo.
"We want discoveries in Zimbabwe," said Moyo. "But for this one in particular, because it was a controversial product, it is in everyone's interest that it be subjected to a thorough testing process, to a rigorous and scientific process, so that "in the end, we can say that it was relevant or not," the minister added.
In a statement to The Chronicle According to the World Health Organization, a newspaper, there is currently "no cure for HIV, although antiretroviral therapy can control the virus, which means that HIV-positive people can live long and healthy."
Moyo and WHO have urged HIV and AIDS victims to continue approved treatments until Magaya's claims have been fully reviewed.
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