Zero tolerance to initiation fatalities
03 Jul 2014
The Deputy Minister for Traditional Affairs Mr. Obed Bapela working together with the National House of Traditional Leaders, the Department of Health, the South African Police Services, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities and the Congress of Traditional Leaders have agreed to work together to save lives, with its call again re-iterating it's on Zero tolerance to initiation fatalities. "It is saddening to report the increased the number of initiates who have lost their lives to 23.
This is despite all the efforts we have made jointly with all our stakeholders, The 19 of the twenty one initiates are from the Eastern Cape, four (3) from Mpumalanga, and one from Western Cape," said Deputy Minister Bapela.
A further 104 young men have been admitted in hospitals for various treatment ranging from dehydration, septic circumcision, gangrene and other chronic illnesses. Government strongly condemns perpetrators who operate illegal schools and convey its deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
The Ministry of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs continue to call on all members of the community to report any illegal initiation schools to the police. The rite of passage is not a license for abuse of the initiates but a process that is ushering these young men to adulthood and a cultural practice that need to be respected.