JABULILE Maphanga from Tembisa, Ekurhuleni is a troubled woman.
The 29-year-old has an undiagnosed skin condition that she says makes her look like a cobra.
Jabulile told
She now wants a strong inyanga who can heal her as she’s convinced she is cursed.
Jabulile said it all started in 2014 after she came back from a funeral in KwaNdebele. “On my way back I noticed two itchy lumps on my neck. I did not pay much attention as I thought the problem might have been caused by the water there.”
But when her entire body started to itch she went to see a doctor, who gave her antibiotics. But, said Jabulile, they didn’t help.
“I then decided to go to hospital and the doctors there suspected I might have TB. I was tested but my results came back negative.
“I was also tested for skin cancer and transferred to Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria to undergo chemotherapy.”
Jabulile said instead of improving, her condition deteriorated to where she couldn’t move. “I was taken off chemo and kept under observation at the hospital.
“One day I woke up and was shocked by what I saw. I now look like a cobra. My neck has swollen and taken the shape of a cobra’s head. My skin is forever itchy.”
Inyanga Nonsikazi Mkhize said there is a snake curse but it is from inside out and isn’t easy to reverse.
Dr Thabiso Motloung said there are a lot of skin conditions and diseases that could cause skin to itch.
“I would have to see the patient first to give a diagnosis.”
