Alarm at 7 initiate deaths
18 in hospital as state sends out monitoring teams
SEVEN initiates have died, causing the government and traditional leaders to launch an emergency crisis intervention. Health MEC Dr Phumza Dyantyi has sent two chief directors to meet with doctors and hospital CEOs in the O R Tambo municipal district to see if general practitioners can be contracted to assist in monitoring initiates.
“The MEC is doing this to ensure that there is not a risk of deaths and complications. She is pulling out all the stops. All the necessary skills have been deployed and they include nurses who are serving as designated medical officers to assist,” said provincial health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo.
Both Dyantyi and cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Fikile Xasa were concerned at the death of the seven initiates, the first of the current summer initiation season, launched on November 19 in Komani (formerly Queenstown).
The latest initiate to die was from the Joe Gqabi region. He died yesterday. The other six died near Mthatha, in Ilinge near Komani, Hage village in Tsomo, Elliotdale and two in Mbizana. Xasa said he was deeply worried. “We are pulling out all stops to ensure the thousands of initiates remain safe. We pray that there are no more deaths in the province.
“The rite of initiation does not kill anyone – it is negligence in handling initiates that kills.
“We appeal to all stakeholders to work together and ensure that nothing is done to dent the custom we are all proud of,” said Xasa yesterday.
At the weekend he visited some of initiation schools in the O R Tambo district and said he was happy that premier Phumulo Masualle had signed the Cultural Initiation Bill into law.
Kupelo said the health department had hired 35 vans to monitor initiation schools the entire season.
“The government is pumping millions, in rands and other resources, into each season to ensure that there are no deaths, only to be disappointed by unscrupulous bogus practitioners.
“The initiates do not die because of the circumcision, but because of ill-treatment, assault and natural causes. We appeal to parents not to send their sons to the bush if they are not medically fit to go there and withstand the conditions,” said Kupelo.
He said one initiate was found dead near Nkululekweni in Mthatha and another youth had been assaulted in Mbizana.
Kupelo said 18 initiates were admitted to Mthatha Regional Hospital and there were fears of an influx into hospitals if something was not done to ensure they were treated properly at the schools.
Cogta provincial spokesman Mamnkeli Ngam said the deaths, recorded in Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani, O R Tambo and Amathola districts, had started last Tuesday and those who died were aged between 16 and 20.
“The Eastern Cape enters the third week of summer initiation with traditional initiation teams on the ground throughout the province to try and ensure the safe passage of our boys to manhood.”
Ngam said the teams had visited more than 5 000 initiates. Those found in illegal schools had been moved to legal ones.
Other problems encountered included dehydration, septicaemia, boys injured by trying to circumcise themselves, and illegal circumcisions.
In the 2015 summer season, more than 40 000 boys underwent the rite in the province. Forty-six died – 17 from Chris Hani municipality, mostly from dehydration. —