By Sinda Matiko

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Tanzania’s retired Lutheran priest Ambilikile Mwasapile, who became an overnight sensation in late 2010 by administering a concoction he claimed could cure any chronic disease, is dead.

Reitred Tanzanian priest Ambilikile Mwasapile, popularly known as Babu wa Loliondo, sells his products to members of the public. PHOTO | Nation Media Group

Mwasapile, christened Babu wa Loliondo, died at Digodigo Health Center in Loliondo, a remote stretch of the Tanzania-Kenya border, where he was taken after a sudden illness.

“It’s true that mzee is dead. We are currently waiting for his remains to be brought to Wasso Hospital mortuary (Ngorongoro District)” his aide Paul Dudui told Mwananchi news.

Mr Dudui said Babu wa Loliondo fell ill last week and was taken to a hospital where he was examined, given medicines and later discharged.

His condition deteriorated suddenly on Friday, so he was rushed to Digodigo.

Special dream

Babu wa Loliondo stirred up controversy in 2010, when he claimed that God, in a dream, gave him the recipe of a herbal medicine that could heal all maladies including HIV/Aids, as long as the patients drank a cup of his concoction.

Between then and 2012, he administered the concoction to millions of people, including Kenyans who journeyed that far in search of cures for serious illnesses.

Local officials claim Babu wa Loliondo served at least four million people who visited his Loliondo residence.

In March 2012, Tanzania’s National Institute for Medical Research released the results of a study that concluded that the concoction was safe, but did not endorse it as the cure for any ailment.

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