DOC'S FAKE AIDS CURE IS BANNED; No evidence to back wild claims.

Byline: GRACE McLEAN EXCLUSIVE

AN AFRICAN doctor who cashed in on his links with Scotland to peddle a "cure" for Aids has been banned from selling his potion.

Professor Charles Ssali claims his food supplement Mariandina cures or prevents a variety of ailments, from breast cancer to heart failure and Aids.

But he has no medical evidence to back his wild claims and has already been banned from selling it in his native Uganda.

Now the Medical Control Agency has suspended the sale of Mariandina in Britain.

Ssali completed his training in Scotland and tells of his past association with the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.

The ear, nose and throat specialist worked at various Scottish hospitals during the past 30 years, including the Victoria Infirmary in Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

He has described himself at press conferences as a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons but records show he was suspended in 1992 for failing to pay subscriptions.

Ssali has formulated successful treatments for many ailments, including a bacterial infection of the throat and lungs called scleroma.

But when the Medical Control Agency in London quizzed him about Mariandina they decided to suspend its sale. A spokeswoman confirmed the suspension but added: "We can say no more because the case is ongoing."

Ssali claims to have treated 17,000 with his potion in Uganda - but the Government there stopped him selling it amid fears that, at pounds 60 a month, it left people too poor to buy food.

Ssali worked at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in the mid-60s and passed the college examinations in 1967 to become a fellow.

Royal College of Surgeons chief executive Jim Foster said: "Professor Ssali has been suspended from the college for some time.

"There is no scientific evidence to back his claims that this supplement works and we do not support any of his claims."

The Record was unable to contact Ssali at his home in London yesterday.