Initiation deaths: 313 deaths and only 8 arrests
In the last five years, 313 deaths and 1 865 injuries have been recorded as a result of botched initiations, a reply to a DA parliamentary question has revealed.
According to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lechesa Tsenoli, no records have been kept on the charges and convictions as a result of initiation deaths.
It is only this year, probably as a result of public outcry, that the Department has kept official records. Eight are currently facing criminal charges in Mpumalanga, and five in the Eastern Cape.
This is a crisis which needs to be tackled head-on by Minister Tsenoli. I will therefore be writing to the Minister requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the way forward in curbing any similar tragedies in the future.
South Africans cannot be expected to wait any longer for this action. The response by the Department to date has been shameful. Indeed, according to the Minister, there is "no need" for a Commission of Inquiry, as requested by the DA, to investigate these deaths and recommend remedial measures to improve conditions at initiation schools.
Instead he has noted that a draft Initiation Policy with the intention of regulating initiation nationally will be published in due course.
Where has the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs been for the last five years? Why have they waited for so long to act on a problem which has claimed so many of our children's lives?
Minister Tsenoli, in his new position, must now do everything in his power to prioritise the lives of the young people who have been subjected to the horrific treatment in what should be a ceremony of celebration.
The DA expects nothing less than urgent action now so that not one more life is lost during initiation ceremonies.
Statement issued by George Boinamo, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, August 21 2013
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