Police in Zimbabwe have raided the offices of a religious leader who said he had developed a cure for HIV, Aids and cancer, the state-owned Herald newspaper reports.

Walter Magaya, who heads the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries, said on Sunday that a herb, called aguma, could destroy the HIV virus.

His announcement caused a backlash, the Herald says.

“As you continue to take the aguma, you start to see your CD4 count disappearing until you become HIV negative,” the New ZImbabwe website quotes him as telling a congregation.

Information Minister Energy Mutodi confirmed the raid on Twitter saying samples of aguma were seized adding that "there is no cure yet" for HIV.