Mbali gets tough on initiation

BOYS wanting to undergo the Xhosa initiation rite in Chris Hani this summer have until the end of this month to register with authorities or else be banned from initiation school.

This was revealed by the Chris Hani district municipality initiation forum chairman Xolela Mbali who encouraged families to register boys by October 31.

Mbali said this during the district’s initiation meeting at the Komani Town Hall, where all six local municipalities under the district authority were represented.

“The aim of these meetings is to fight the death of initiates and check the readiness of each municipality so that when we do our visits on November 24, we are updated on what is expected of us,” he said.

Among the issues that were raised in the meeting were lack of assistance by some municipalities, lack of transport and no commitment from the parents of initiates. Mbali said a traditional surgeon’s database must be compiled so as to eliminate bogus initiation schools.

“Each season we are facing new challenges. We used to fight those who refused to give initiates water. Now we are fighting against violence as one initiate was shot during the winter initiation season,” he said.

Mbali said they would be stricter by ensuring every initiate is medically cleared before undergoing the rite.

Mlandeli Gxaba said it was about time for the law to be enforced on those who were ruining the rite. — thembiles@dispatch.