The "Prophet" Moses - Part 1 (2005)

An excerpt from "Courage in the Congo: A Doctor's Fight to Save the Pygmies"

Available now on Amazon:

Courage in the Congo: A Doctor's Fight to Save the Pygmies: Galloway, Kent: 9780578877129: Amazon.com: Books

I have previously written that the Bantu believe the fetishes of their enemies cause all illnesses and deaths. They go to local witch doctors to obtain fetishes (charms). These charms are supposed to help them get money, a job, have a good harvest or a successful hunt, find a spouse, have children, protect them from their enemies, harm others, and more. They often become afraid of their fetishes and want to get rid of them, but they fear to do so. In recent years, many sects have sprung up and claim to have special powers. They do this to make money and take advantage of the fact people live in misery.

A young man set up shop in a village near Kiri and claimed to receive God's miraculous powers. People flocked to him by the hundreds and called him a prophet. He called himself Moses. I heard that he operated on hernias, hydroceles, and goiters without cutting the skin. The prophet rubbed "special water" on them, and their hernias disappeared. They said he cured sterility, the blind, deaf, mutes, deformed arms, and more. However, he specialized in removing fetishes and identifying a person's enemies. The people said all these claims were valid. I told the director I want to send some of our blind, deaf, and mute patients to prove he was a hoax. I found it unusual that this guy did not ask for money.

Last Thursday, a freshmen boy started to cry because someone stole his dictionary. On Friday, I asked the students to return the dictionary. I said, "If the thief does not return it, I will write to the 'prophet' and have him identify the thief." That night the dictionary showed up on the boy's bed. I had a good laugh.