Early spike in initiation deaths
Premier describes the establishment of committee as a decisive step to prevent fatalities
AS THE initiation season gets under way around the country, the Mpumalanga provincial government has raised concern about the already rising number of deaths.
The province’s premier, Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, said the provincial government had been informed about eight recorded fatalities that occurred from initiation schools across the province this week.
Despite a partnership between the government and traditional leaders, there were concerns that the rise in illegal initiation schools could contribute to the deaths of young initiates who would be abducted and forced into these schools.
Some of them would possibly die of dehydration, and others would get infections during the initiation process.
The premier, who addressed the provincial House of Traditional Leaders in the legislature this week, said she was distressed by the deaths.
She said the establishment of the Provincial Initiation Co-ordinating Committee (PICC) was a decisive step undertaken by the province to prevent fatalities during the practice of ingoma.
She said the committee would perform its duties in compliance with the requirement of the Customary Initiation Act No 2 of 2021.
The PICC would be chaired by Inkhosi Mbuyane, with Kgoshigadi Mohlala elected as the deputy chairperson.
The committee would have oversight and monitoring responsibilities, including all relevant structures that practised ingoma.
“The PICC will create a database for all legal initiation schools in Mpumalanga. These efforts are aimed at helping to curb fatalities during the initiation period.
“The PICC and the task team will monitor the proceedings during ingoma, and are busy on the ground to tighten monitoring for compliance,” the provincial government said.
The premier added that the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) was putting together an action plan in collaboration with the Department of Health to allocate more resources to curb any potential escalation of ingoma fatalities.
She urged all ingoma initiation schools to work with the government to ensure the safe passage of ingoma initiates.
The chairperson of the Congress of Traditional Leaders in SA in Mpumalanga, Kgosi Siphosezwe Mahlangu, said the province was expecting at least 50 000 young men at this year’s initiation season.
He said he would give a full comment to The Star once the cause of death in the case of the eight boys was discovered.
African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe said the party was concerned that the initiation season was in winter, and that the young men would be exposed to the harsh weather.
He called for an investigation into the causes of death, and for greater oversight by government officials.
“We are concerned about the loss of life. The government must investigate the cause of the deaths, and the people who do these circumcisions need to be vetted, and they should be qualified,“Meshoe said.
He added that the manner in which the tradition was carried out should be evaluated if it was leading to the loss of life.
“Protection of life must be prioritised. We care about life, and we cannot be reckless about life in the name of tradition,” Meshoe said.