7/1/05 The witch doctor report
The witch doctor report
Mr Bamba charges £1,000 to get a boyfriend back ... with the help of a bag of hair clippings, a magic parcel and three slaughtered cows. Now Trading Standards want a word...
Exclusive
By Grant Woodward
HE's the witch doctor who claims he can banish black magic curses, cure impotence and make women fertile.
But the man who calls himself Mr Bamba was today at the centre of a Trading Standards investigation after charging a woman nearly £1,000 in a failed effort to get her partner back.
Maria Mannion paid up and was then stunned when Mr Bamba told her to slaughter three cows.
She was also asked for some pubic hair before being handed "medicine" to throw in the River Aire.
Miss Mannion, 48, told the YEP: "Something has got to be done about this man. Someone will end up killing themselves over the things he promises them."
The mother-of-two, from Gledhow, first went to Mr Bamba in April and paid a £20 consultation fee.
Praying
She returned to Bamba's home in Luxor View, Harehills, and was told to hand over £180 before being made to sit on a rug.
She said: "It was surrounded by these sort of hieroglyphics. He was wearing this white robe and hat and there were beads everywhere.
"He asked for a picture of my partner and started praying.
"Then he asked me to go into another room and cut some pubic hair which he put in an envelope.
"About two days later he rang me and I picked up some rubber things with tape around them. He said they had medicine in and I had to put one in my partner's chair, one in my pocket or handbag and the other one in the river.
"When my partner left me a little while later, Mr Bamba said I needed stronger medicine and asked for £1,000.
"I only had £600 and gave him that. He gave me two more bits of rubber and said to throw them in the river and me and my partner would "float back together"."
Maria said: "I feel silly now but there's something about him and the way he looks into your face when he's talking. You're like another person when you go in there."
Eventually Maria was told she would have to slaughter three cows near some water to save her relationship. Bamba, who advertises in the Yellow Pages, offered to have a friend in Africa do it for her – at the cost of £120 a cow.
She said: "He rang me five times over the weekend asking for more money but I haven't given him any. At one point he said the medicine wouldn't work unless I helped get a council house for him and his wife.
Medical
"People need to be told about this man. He's trying to drain money from vulnerable people."
Paul Smith, of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said they would be paying Mr Bamba a visit.
"Potentially there could be some offences being committed here," he said.
"If he is making medical claims he needs to be able to back them up. I urge people to think very carefully before handing money to this man."
Miss Mannion's MP Fabian Hamilton (Lab, Leeds North East) vowed to raise the issue of so-called "spiritual healers" in Parliament.
He will also check his immigration status and whether he receives any benefits or pays tax.
He said: "This is witch doctoring and I will be asking how people like this can set themselves up and exploit people in this way."
grant.woodward@ypn.co.uk
Mr Bamba lives in an ordinary-looking terrace in the middle of Harehills.
When the YEP paid him a mid-afternoon visit, he was on the phone and ushered us into his front sitting room.
Printed cards pushed through letterboxes in the area advertise him as "an international spritual healer/advisor with 21 years experience" who can help with "marriage, love, jobs, exams".
When asked about the services he offers, Bamba, dressed in T-shirt and shorts, stated confidently that he could help people, but refused to reveal his methods.
"I can't tell you what I can do," he said. "My techniques are secret. I have to ask the spirit. I can't do anything before I have information from him. If I want him at any time I can call him."
Bamba, who says he is 37 and from The Gambia, told the YEP he moved to Britain four years ago and has lived in Leeds for three-and-a-half years.
He claims he discovered his "gift" as a young boy in Africa when a figure came to him in a dream.
He said fees for his services, beyond the £20 consultation fee, depended on what "medicine" was required.
"I contact the medicine man in Africa and see if he has it," he said. "If you don't want it you can leave it."
Bamba showed the YEP a set of beads and a small stitched leather parcel which he said contained his special medicine.
He confirmed he had "helped" Maria Mannion but denied taking advantage of her or pestering her for money.
He also denied blackmailing her into getting him a council house, saying she had offered to help him and his wife.
Bamba was adamant that Miss Mannion must slaughter three cows and distribute the meat in her community in order to be reunited with her partner.
His friend in Africa would kill the cows on her behalf, he said, but it would cost his friend £360 to buy them.
"Many people come with black magic problems and I can help to stop that black magic," he said. "I can't count how many people I see." A neighbour of Bamba's, who asked not to be named, said: "We have seen a lot of people going into his house but had no idea what was going on. I think it's a bit creepy having someone like him living in the street."
01 July 2005
Mr Bamba charges £1,000 to get a boyfriend back ... with the help of a bag of hair clippings, a magic parcel and three slaughtered cows. Now Trading Standards want a word...
Exclusive
By Grant Woodward
HE's the witch doctor who claims he can banish black magic curses, cure impotence and make women fertile.
But the man who calls himself Mr Bamba was today at the centre of a Trading Standards investigation after charging a woman nearly £1,000 in a failed effort to get her partner back.
Maria Mannion paid up and was then stunned when Mr Bamba told her to slaughter three cows.
She was also asked for some pubic hair before being handed "medicine" to throw in the River Aire.
Miss Mannion, 48, told the YEP: "Something has got to be done about this man. Someone will end up killing themselves over the things he promises them."
The mother-of-two, from Gledhow, first went to Mr Bamba in April and paid a £20 consultation fee.
Praying
She returned to Bamba's home in Luxor View, Harehills, and was told to hand over £180 before being made to sit on a rug.
She said: "It was surrounded by these sort of hieroglyphics. He was wearing this white robe and hat and there were beads everywhere.
"He asked for a picture of my partner and started praying.
"Then he asked me to go into another room and cut some pubic hair which he put in an envelope.
"About two days later he rang me and I picked up some rubber things with tape around them. He said they had medicine in and I had to put one in my partner's chair, one in my pocket or handbag and the other one in the river.
"When my partner left me a little while later, Mr Bamba said I needed stronger medicine and asked for £1,000.
"I only had £600 and gave him that. He gave me two more bits of rubber and said to throw them in the river and me and my partner would "float back together"."
Maria said: "I feel silly now but there's something about him and the way he looks into your face when he's talking. You're like another person when you go in there."
Eventually Maria was told she would have to slaughter three cows near some water to save her relationship. Bamba, who advertises in the Yellow Pages, offered to have a friend in Africa do it for her – at the cost of £120 a cow.
She said: "He rang me five times over the weekend asking for more money but I haven't given him any. At one point he said the medicine wouldn't work unless I helped get a council house for him and his wife.
Medical
"People need to be told about this man. He's trying to drain money from vulnerable people."
Paul Smith, of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said they would be paying Mr Bamba a visit.
"Potentially there could be some offences being committed here," he said.
"If he is making medical claims he needs to be able to back them up. I urge people to think very carefully before handing money to this man."
Miss Mannion's MP Fabian Hamilton (Lab, Leeds North East) vowed to raise the issue of so-called "spiritual healers" in Parliament.
He will also check his immigration status and whether he receives any benefits or pays tax.
He said: "This is witch doctoring and I will be asking how people like this can set themselves up and exploit people in this way."
grant.woodward@ypn.co.uk
Mr Bamba lives in an ordinary-looking terrace in the middle of Harehills.
When the YEP paid him a mid-afternoon visit, he was on the phone and ushered us into his front sitting room.
Printed cards pushed through letterboxes in the area advertise him as "an international spritual healer/advisor with 21 years experience" who can help with "marriage, love, jobs, exams".
When asked about the services he offers, Bamba, dressed in T-shirt and shorts, stated confidently that he could help people, but refused to reveal his methods.
"I can't tell you what I can do," he said. "My techniques are secret. I have to ask the spirit. I can't do anything before I have information from him. If I want him at any time I can call him."
Bamba, who says he is 37 and from The Gambia, told the YEP he moved to Britain four years ago and has lived in Leeds for three-and-a-half years.
He claims he discovered his "gift" as a young boy in Africa when a figure came to him in a dream.
He said fees for his services, beyond the £20 consultation fee, depended on what "medicine" was required.
"I contact the medicine man in Africa and see if he has it," he said. "If you don't want it you can leave it."
Bamba showed the YEP a set of beads and a small stitched leather parcel which he said contained his special medicine.
He confirmed he had "helped" Maria Mannion but denied taking advantage of her or pestering her for money.
He also denied blackmailing her into getting him a council house, saying she had offered to help him and his wife.
Bamba was adamant that Miss Mannion must slaughter three cows and distribute the meat in her community in order to be reunited with her partner.
His friend in Africa would kill the cows on her behalf, he said, but it would cost his friend £360 to buy them.
"Many people come with black magic problems and I can help to stop that black magic," he said. "I can't count how many people I see." A neighbour of Bamba's, who asked not to be named, said: "We have seen a lot of people going into his house but had no idea what was going on. I think it's a bit creepy having someone like him living in the street."
01 July 2005
posted by Aestrea Raven at Friday, July 01, 2005
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