How to Choose a Safe Traditional Healer in Uganda

Why this matters

Many Ugandans use traditional medicine, and most healers are honest people serving their communities. But the Uganda Police have warned about fraudsters who pose as healers or pastors and take money and property, including land titles, by promising miracles. In March 2025 the police spokesperson told the public to “be wary of individuals who ask for money or property in exchange for spiritual or supernatural interventions.”

There is also no working national licence you can check yet. The Traditional and Complementary Medicine Act created a council to register healers, but in 2023 it was reported as not yet running because of lack of funding. As far as we can tell, that is still the case in October 2026. So you have to do your own checks.

The checklist

1. Real name and a real place

A genuine healer can tell you their full name, the village or town where they work, and how to find their shrine or clinic. Be careful with someone who only has a phone number, a nickname or a social media page.

2. Local reputation

Ask people who live nearby: neighbours, your LC1 chairperson, long-standing patients. A healer who has served the same area for years has a reputation to protect. Ask whether they belong to a known healers’ association, and contact the association if you can.

3. No guarantees

No honest healer, doctor or pastor can guarantee that you will win a case, get a visa, get rich or get back a partner. Promises of quick riches are the most common bait in scams. See traditional healer scams.

4. Prices up front

Ask what the consultation costs and what any medicine or ritual will cost, before anything starts. Be careful if the price keeps rising (“the spirits now need more”) or new fees appear after you have paid.

5. Never hand over land titles, logbooks or large sums

No healing needs your land title, car logbook, national ID or bank PIN. Police warnings specifically mention victims who lost land titles this way. If someone asks for these, stop and leave.

6. Never stop hospital treatment

A responsible healer will not tell you to stop medicines for HIV, TB, diabetes, high blood pressure or epilepsy, or to skip antenatal care. Stopping them can be fatal. Some Ugandan healers say they prefer patients who already have a hospital diagnosis. Read traditional healer or hospital.

7. Herbal products should have an NDA number

If you are sold a packaged herbal product, check whether it has been notified or registered with the drug authority. Claims that a product “cures” HIV, cancer or diabetes are a warning sign. See how to check herbal medicine.

Red flags: walk away if…

• They promise to double or multiply money, or to turn shillings into dollars.
• They ask for land titles, logbooks, ID cards, mobile money PINs or large “spirit fees”.
• They threaten you, or say a curse will fall on you if you leave or ask for a refund.
• They tell you to stop medicine from a health worker.
• They ask you to harm a person or animal, or to bring body parts, hair or blood of another person. Human sacrifice is a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment in Uganda.
• They insist on secrecy from your family.
• They only exist online, often with foreign phone numbers, and want payment before you meet.
• They pressure a child, an older person or someone very ill to pay quickly.

Good signs

• They ask about your health history and any hospital diagnosis.
• They explain what a remedy is and how much to take.
• They say clearly when a problem needs a hospital.
• They give you time to decide and talk to your family.

If something goes wrong

Report fraud, threats or violence to the nearest police station. Keep evidence: receipts, mobile money transaction messages, phone numbers and screenshots. If a listed healer on Juju.ug behaves this way, report them to us. Our rules are in the safety policy.