Namibia seems to have become a fertile ground for fake and desperate witchdoctors aiming to make quick bucks and become rich. The healers, some from Congo-DRC and Congo- Brazzaville, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi while others are Namibians, have been accused of ripping off naive and unsuspecting citizens of thousands of dollars.

Through advertisements in local newspapers, traditional healers or witchdoctors, claim to treat ailments ranging from high blood pressure, sexually
transmitted diseases, diabetes and infertility. They offer to heal all of them, including penis enlargement to mend your marriage. Many claim to specialize in the removal of bad luck, increase luck to win gambling games and business-muti to become rich. Or they promise to bring back lost lovers within 24 hours. An Informanté investigation reveals that most Namibians have not as yet detected that these are mere money making schemes, carried out with the collusion of Namibians acting as middlemen. Their modus operandi starts with local middlemen spreading the word Bogus witchdoctors cash-in fortune about wise and strong traditional doctors who are capable of helping to solve problems. Troubled and unsuspecting potential patients are then directed to a ‹healer›, where they are charged inflated fees for several follow ups. The advertising agent or ‹middleman› will then get a share of the consultation fees. The practice is common in Windhoek›s Katututra and Oshakati. It’s what they do, sometimes you can be given herbs that are totally trash,» says a source closer to the dealings – a man who is renting a flat adjacent to a healer in Golgota. The source related that the witchdoctors do not
reside at one address for long and would vanish after the second or third consultation with one client. Another citizen blames the flocking of troubled
patients to witchdoctors  on newspapers: “Newspaper ads provide a platform to wrong people to do their trade. You said you write for Informanté, and you are doing the story on them, but your paper is full of their adverts, she moans. It’s not only the magic fraternity that is feeling the backlash. The religious sector industry is now also wailing about ‘false prophets of religion’ who are said to be on the increase in Namibia. They are erecting tents and shacks at every available space, even illegally, to lure people into their churches with promises of ‘miraculous healings to end troubles’.“Their main aim is to cheat; and all this is done in the name of the creator. Some congregations go as far as sowing division between their members, families and relatives in order
to secure ‘miraculous intervention.’ Men and women have been making huge donations to the churches and many have ended up in financial  doldrums. Some members have backpaddled upon realizing that they were conned, while others still opt to stay on the boat.