YouTube to delete prayer healing videos for AIDS and cancer

It is now emerging that YouTube is considering deleting all the videos that are of sermons and prayers of pastors who claim to cure chronic diseases such as cancer and AIDS only through prayer without any medicine.

According to the report, the social network said that, "In the coming days and weeks, we will remove all videos that explain about cancer treatment that are not true and mislead patients by making them not seek treatment."

The videos also include those that advise cancer patients to use garlic or eat foods containing vitamin C instead of receiving treatment through a modern plant that emits X-Ray rays to kill cells that spread cancer (radiotherapy), Taifa Leo explained.

"We will also set an age restriction or have a panel of people who will highlight the video content to complement the existing message," the newspaper quoted YouTube as saying.

This announcement comes at a time when there has been a heated debate in Kenya about some harsh sermons from preachers.

Some have reached the point of claiming that they have the power and strength to revive the dead, some even to heal the barren generation and make them have a child, others to heal the lame, the blind, the insane and other dubious sermons.

In the past few months, a preacher who calls himself a prophet of God David Owuor claimed that he healed many people during his healing prayer tour across the vast Rift Valley area.

According to the committee of the senate that was investigating the genocide in the Shakahola forest, it was stated that several people came forward and claimed that they got healing from the programs of the controversial pastor.

Dr. Toromo Kochei, Rift Valley regional coordinator of the National AIDS Control Program (NASCOP) told the committee that under the authority of NASCOP, he did a detailed history of patients who claimed to be cured and discovered that they were completely cured.

He gave the committee at least three names of AIDS patients who claimed to have been cured of the disease through faith, saying that reports of patients being miraculously cured are not fanciful.

In addition to this, last week the government released a list of several churches whose licenses have been revoked, including that of the controversial pastor Paul Mackenzi without informing Ezekiel Odero.