Siphiwe Hadebe claimed he had cured her of HIV/Aids but his treatment left her physically drained and still HIV-positive, says Pinky Tiro.
Tiro, the sister of popular television talkshow host Felicia Mabuza-Suttle, told The Star that she was one of the first five people to be treated by Hadebe, about three years ago.
Hadebe, known as a doctor to his HIV-positive patients but who is apparently only a qualified medical technologist, was to appear in the Randburg magistrate's court on Monday for a bail hearing, after being arrested two weeks ago and charged with contravening the Medicines Control Act.
About three years ago Hadebe allegedly claimed to have found a cure for HIV and Aids using a traditional medicine (umbimbi) made out of two indigenous herbs and a special salt.
To experiment or to prove that he indeed had a cure, Hadebe took in five HIV-positive patients at his northern suburbs clinic in Johannesburg.
The Star managed to track down most of Hadebe's initial batch of HIV-positive patients and can reveal that three of them have since died.
Other than one patient, who was from Botswana and could not be reached, Tiro is the only survivor The Star could trace.
"I'm still HIV-positive, so that means Siphiwe didn't cure me," said the shebeen queen, socialite, wife, mother and now volunteer at the Sisulu Mandela Health Centre in Orlando.
Tiro reflected on the days when her complexion darkened and her hair and nails fell out because, she claimed, of Hadebe's treatment.
She said she was very ill when a family member told her about Hadebe and his "magic medicine".
Without the approval of the rest of her family, she went to Hadebe's clinic in Fourways, where she was admitted and treated for 10 days.
"Before we go too far, I must say that the food was delicious, the place was comfortable and, as for the handsome and intelligent Siphiwe, he is a very kind man," said Tiro.
Apart from having someone making their beds, patients' blood samples were taken and sent to a caravan in the yard, which was used as a laboratory.
Like in a proper hospital or traditional healer's house, Tiro said their treatment was explained to them beforehand. It entailed 25 pipe-smoking sessions a day for three days, followed by four days of rest, and then another three days of smoking sessions.
They also drank a cupful of umbimbi mixed with soup once a day for 10 days.
"Umbimbi was so bitter at first, I thought it was olive oil. The pipe sessions, using a long, sophisticated pipe which emitted white smoke, helped to clear my voice but it drained me of all my energy. The four days' rest proved to be useful," said Tiro.
After the 10 days, Tiro said, the patients went back to their homes because they had been told they had been healed of HIV/Aids.
One of the other patients, known as Jane, apparently died a month after leaving the clinic. Another patient, Thuli, died two months later, and a third, Thabo, died in February 2001.
At the clinic on Sunday, a man said it would open again on Tuesday because the "doctor" (Hadebe) was away.