Traditional leader awaits verdict after illegal circumcision of boy

The first EC traditional leader to be prosecuted for unlawful circumcision heads for judgment day on Wednesday.

Prominent Abathembu nkosi Ndiphiwe Zwelihlangene Dalasile of Amaqwathi in Ngcobo was charged with issuing an illegal initiation permit to an underage boy.

Closing arguments were made on Friday at the Ngcobo magistrate’s court, with judgment expected on Wednesday.

The victim, Anathi Dikana, was 16 when he underwent the rite in November 2019. Dalasile is accused of making it look as if he was 18.

According to circumcision legislation, only boys who are 18 years and above and medically fit are eligible to undergo the rite. Traditional leaders issue permits for boys to undergo the rite and for initiation schools to be opened in their jurisdiction.

The nkosi and the youth are from Xuka village in Ngcobo.

Dalasile is accused with Mtate Dikana, Anathi’s father, who allegedly bowed to pressure from his eager son to undergo the sacred rite of passage, which has been tainted by a worrying number of initiate deaths over the past decade.

Also charged is the traditional surgeon, Melikhaya Songxala, who performed the circumcision on November 29 2019.

Dalasile is accused of tampering with the forms. He is accused of changing the six of 16 to increase the boy’s age to 18. The boy’s identity number was also tampered with, according to the police and National Prosecuting Authority.

Dikana apparently succumbed to the pressure put on him by his son, who said he was mocked in the village and by his peers, some aged 16 themselves, who had undergone the rite.

He was the only “boy” left among his friends.

According to section 27 (10) of the Eastern Cape Customary Male Initiation Practice Act No 5 of 2016, allowing a youth under 18 to be circumcised is liable to a fine of R10,000, six months’ jail, or both.

This punishment also applies to any traditional leader who approves the circumcision of underage boys.

NPA senior prosecutor Thango Phangalele said unlawful circumcision was a problem in the province and caused many deaths or amputations.

Phangalele said Dalasile was the legal custodian of the custom and was supposed to have protected the youths.

Defending attorney Andisa Mngomane, of Legal Aid SA, argued that according to the act, a boy under the age of 16 could be circumcised if there was consent and permission.

Phangelele said it would open floodgates if the court accepted that boys under 18 could be circumcised.