Traditional Healers Organisation - THO

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Traditional Healers Organisation - THO Our Mission

Train, educate, register & advocate for recognition by all stakeholders

This is the official page for the Traditional Healers Organisation

Our Vision
We envisage a professional registered & registered traditional healing sector.

📢 2026 AGM DATE AND VENUE UPDATETHO wishes to inform all members, THPs, and stakeholders of an update to the dates and v...
20/10/2026

📢 2026 AGM DATE AND VENUE UPDATE

THO wishes to inform all members, THPs, and stakeholders of an update to the dates and venue of our previously announced 2026 National Annual General Meeting.

Please note that our AGM will take place on 16–17 November 2026 at Marlboro Hall, Sandton, Johannesburg.

The AGM will bring together THO members, THPs from across the sector, and stakeholders to engage on matters affecting our profession, exchange perspectives and shape priorities for the future of traditional healing

📅 Dates: 16–17 November 2026
📍 Venue: Marlboro Hall, Sandton
🕗 Programme: 08:00–17:00 daily.

To ensure a successful and orderly gathering, please note the following finalised logistical arrangements:

🚗 Members Traveling Long Distances:

• Arrival: Sunday, 15 November 2026 (From 16:00 onwards to facilitate overnight stay arrangements)
• Departure: Wednesday, 18 November 2026 (Morning departure)

🚕 Members in Close Proximity to the Venue:

• Arrival: Monday, 16 November 2026 (Before 08:00 AM to allow for prompt registration and setup)
• Departure: Evening of Tuesday, 17 November 2026, or early morning on Wednesday, 18 November 2026..

For more information, please contact the numbers provided on the AGM notice or email the THO Head Office.

🥁 THO IS CALLING ALL INDIGENOUS HEALERS WHO HEAL THROUGH MUSICDo you know izingoma zamadlozi? Are you a traditional sing...
18/10/2026

🥁 THO IS CALLING ALL INDIGENOUS HEALERS WHO HEAL THROUGH MUSIC

Do you know izingoma zamadlozi? Are you a traditional singer or drummer who carries our ancestral songs, prayers and teachings?

The Traditional Healers Organization is inviting abaculi and abashayi bezigubhu to join us for the THO Studio Camp Audiobook Project, taking place from 20–26 October 2026.

We want to record and preserve our traditional songs, prayers and oral teachings so that what our elders passed down to us can continue to live through the generations. These are part of our heritage, and we have a responsibility to preserve them.

🥁 Abashayi Bezigubhu: If you play the drums and know the rhythms of our tradition, we want to hear from you.

🎤 Abaculi: If you know izingoma zamadlozi and are willing to lend your voice to this project, we invite you to join us.

📍 Venue: THO Studios, 16 Banket Street, Johannesburg.
📅 Dates: 20–26 October 2026.

Please note: Participation is voluntary, and no payment will be provided. This is an opportunity to contribute your knowledge and talent towards preserving our heritage for future generations.

📞 Contact us to participate:

THO Studios Manager, W. Shabalala: 061 385 1887
THO National Secretary, Gogo Brenda: 078 105 6294

Our songs carry our history. Let us record them, preserve them and pass them on🌿

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE THO KZN SATELITE OFFICE🏛️On 9 October 2026, THO President Ndumakazulu Maseko joined the KwaZulu-...
14/10/2026

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE THO KZN SATELITE OFFICE🏛️

On 9 October 2026, THO President Ndumakazulu Maseko joined the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Committee in marking the reopening and blessing of the THO KZN Provincial Satellite Office in Durban.

The occasion carries deep historical significance. The office was first approved for opening in 2006 under the leadership of our late Founding President, Dr DDD Maseko.

The President’s visit marked an important step in advancing the process of restoring the office’s role within THO, building on the vision previously blessed by our founding leadership.

The renewed office is intended to strengthen provincial coordination, support members, develop district structures and deepen engagement with traditional health practitioners and stakeholders across KwaZulu-Natal.

We commend the KZN Provincial Executive Committee for its efforts in bringing this milestone to fruition. As we honour those who laid the foundation before us, we remain committed to building an organisation grounded in unity, accountability and service.

The Traditional Healers Organization is pleased to announce our 2026 Annual General Meeting, taking place on 11 & 12 Nov...
05/10/2026

The Traditional Healers Organization is pleased to announce our 2026 Annual General Meeting, taking place on 11 & 12 November 2026 in Johannesburg.

Our AGM is an important opportunity for THO leadership, members, non-member THPs and invited stakeholders to come together, reflect on the work of the organisation, discuss the matters affecting THPs, and look ahead to the future of our sector.

This year's AGM will also create space for engagement, collaboration and strengthening relationships with our members, partners and stakeholders.

As THO continues to grow and strengthen its work across South Africa, your participation matters.

📅 11–12 November 2026
📍 Johannesburg — Venue still to be confirmed

More information on registration, programme and logistics will be shared in due course.

📢 THO OFFICIAL PUBLIC NOTICE: CLARIFICATION ON POLITICAL NEUTRALITY The Traditional Healers Organization has become awar...
30/09/2026

📢 THO OFFICIAL PUBLIC NOTICE: CLARIFICATION ON POLITICAL NEUTRALITY

The Traditional Healers Organization has become aware of photographs and campaign materials circulating publicly where members are pictured in official THO uniforms while participating in active political party campaigns.

Because these visuals can create a misleading impression that THO endorses or is affiliated with specific political structures, the organisation hereby issues this binding clarification to safeguard our institutional integrity. THO is strictly a non-political, non-partisan organisation.

Our supreme governing THO Constitution explicitly mandates this neutrality:

⚖️ Article 17.1 (Political Alignment): “T.H.O is a non-political organisation, and no person shall be allowed to canvass in the organisation for any political or public election purposes, or to use the organisation for any political gain.”

⚖️ Article 28.7 (Political Neutrality): “The Organisation shall not use its resources, directly or indirectly, to support, advance, or oppose any political party.”

As a registered Non-Profit Organisation under the Nonprofit Organisations Act 71 of 1997 and an approved Public Benefit Organisation (PBO), THO is legally required to maintain absolute political neutrality to serve all communities equally;

• Individual Rights Honored: THO deeply respects the constitutional rights of our members. You remain entirely free to vote, campaign, or stand as an election candidate in your personal capacity as a private citizen.

• Strict Branding Prohibitions: Personal political involvement must never be presented as an organizational stance. The THO uniform, name, logo, badge, or letterhead may not be utilized for any political marketing or party campaigning.

• Sacred Use of Regalia: Per organizational directives, the THO uniform is strictly reserved for official THO proceedings, formal government stakeholder engagements, and our members' funerals.

Our membership is composed of diverse individuals with varied political affiliations, but THO has only one collective responsibility: to independently protect, serve, and represent all THPs. We will continue to engage impartially with all democratic structures, government departments, and civil society partners to advance indigenous knowledge systems.

We respectfully direct all members to completely separate personal political alignments from their THO identity, and to immediately cease sharing or publishing any campaign materials featuring THO regalia.

Issued by: The National Executive Committee (NEC)
Date: 30 September 2026

Sharpeville - Cradle of Human RightsOn the 5th of September 2026, the Traditional Healers Organization collaborated with...
07/09/2026

Sharpeville - Cradle of Human Rights

On the 5th of September 2026, the Traditional Healers Organization collaborated with Majesty Comics , Emfuleni Arts, CoGTA, CONTRALESA and the Gauteng Provincial Indigenous Knowledge Systems Department in bringing the story of Naledi: Juggling Life, Education & the Calling to life.

This was more than the launch of a comic book. It was a conversation about identity, heritage, education and the place of African spirituality in the lives of our children.

Indaba ka Naledi yindaba yethu.

Naledi is a young girl navigating life, her education and the profound calling of ubungoma. Her story asks us to confront an important reality: how many of our children carry similar gifts and experiences, yet feel pressured to hide or suppress who they are in order to fit into spaces that do not always recognise their cultural and spiritual realities?

At the centre of the day was one question:

Sizoyilungisa kanjani? How do we get it right?

For us, the answer lies in Ukubuyisa Amasiko (Reclaiming and Preserving Our Heritage). It is about decolonising the mind and creating spaces where our children do not have to choose between their education and their identity.

Gogo Masechaba, a member of THO’s National Executive, opened the proceedings through umphahlo, acknowledging imimoya emihle, ekhanyayo and seeking permission from the ancestors before the work could begin.

There was something deeply significant about doing this on the soil of Sharpeville - the Cradle of Human Rights. As we honoured the spiritual protocol of the space, we were reminded of THO’s ongoing work to advocate for a proper, truthful and meaningful place for Indigenous Health Care Practice and Indigenous Health Care Practitioners within our country's systems.

Gogo Brenda, THO’s National Secretary General, guided the Sacred Space of Q&A, engaging young people and participants around ubungoma, stigma, education, identity and what it means to grow up gifted in a society that can sometimes make our children feel that they must choose between who they are and who they are expected to become.

And perhaps this is one of the most powerful messages Naledi gives us:

Ubungoma is not the opposite of education. It is heritage. It is knowledge. It is identity.

We are deeply grateful to Majesty Comics for creating a story in which our children can see themselves, not only as learners, but as young people carrying culture, knowledge, gifts and responsibilities.

Sibuyisa ubuntu ebuntwini.

We are decolonising the mind, one child, one story at a time.

AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE DAY 2026🌿On 31 August 2026, members of the Traditional Healers Organization joined other Tr...
02/09/2026

AFRICAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE DAY 2026🌿

On 31 August 2026, members of the Traditional Healers Organization joined other Traditional Health Practitioners, government representatives, researchers and communities at the African Traditional Medicine Day commemoration held at Kamhlushwa Stadium, Mpumalanga.

This year's theme was:

“Reflection on Research and Development Efforts of Traditional Medicine Towards Achieving Universal Health Coverage in the African Region.”

The theme comes at an important time for South Africa, as government continues preparations for the National Health Insurance (NHI) and discussions around how THPs can be meaningfully incorporated into the country's healthcare system.

Deputy Minister of Health Dr Joe Phaahla reaffirmed government's commitment to including traditional medicine within universal health coverage and stressed the importance of collaboration between traditional and biomedical healthcare.

For indigenous healers, however, the question is not simply whether THPs will be included in NHI. The important question is:

What will meaningful inclusion look like?

How will indigenous healers be registered, accredited and appropriately recognised? How will referrals work between traditional and biomedical practitioners? How will practitioners be remunerated? How will patient safety and accountability be protected while respecting the diversity of traditional healing practices?

These questions cannot be separated from the unfinished regulatory work surrounding the Traditional Health Practitioners Act 22 of 2007.

In May 2026, Parliament expressed concern about the continued delays in operationalising the Traditional Health Practitioners Council, including outstanding regulations and the absence of a functional national register.

One of the important reflections raised during the commemoration was the need to revisit the original purpose and mandate behind the establishment of a statutory regulatory framework for THPs. This is an important conversation for the sector as we consider what regulation should ultimately achieve.

THO is not against regulation.

We believe healers should be regulated in a way that protects the public, promotes ethical practice and strengthens confidence in the sector. But regulation must also reflect the realities of traditional health practice.

Traditional health does not exist in isolation. It intersects with questions of healthcare, indigenous knowledge, medicinal plants, biodiversity, land, research, intellectual property and community rights.

The NHI Act itself recognises the need for legislative reform relating to the Traditional Health Practitioners Act as part of implementing the new health system.

As THO, we therefore continue to advocate for a regulatory framework that is developed with THPs, rather than simply imposed on them.

THPs must have a meaningful voice in shaping the future of healthcare in South Africa.

The conversation has started. Now the work must move forward.

Address

No 16 Cnr Banket & Deviliers Street
Johannesburg
2000

Opening Hours

Monday 08:30 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:30 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:30 - 17:00
Thursday 08:30 - 17:00
Friday 08:30 - 15:00

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