About 28 initiates died in the Eastern Cape.
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- The CRL Commission will convene to determine solutions to end the deaths of initiates in the Eastern Cape.
- The commission called on law enforcement agencies to respond decisively to alleged criminality tainting the initiation practice.
- Premier Oscar Mabuyane called on the police to swiftly investigate a shooting that claimed the lives of three siblings earlier this month.
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities will convene next month to determine appropriate steps to end the deaths of initiates in the Eastern Cape.
The commission said the deaths of 28 initiates, who died in the province, reflected a crisis of accountability and weakness in enforcing the rule of law at the expense of the traditional practice.
While it called on law enforcement agencies to investigate and arrest the killers of initiates in the province, it lamented a lack of action to prevent deaths despite holding several engagements with traditional leaders.
Earlier this month, Premier Oscar Mabuyane called on law enforcement to tighten the grip on criminals who targeted initiation schools following reports of killings and rapes of initiates.
He said three brothers were killed and one initiate injured in Mntla Location while a traditional nurse in Ward 5 eMalahleni in Cacadu faced rape allegations.
Commission chairperson Professor David Mosoma said the traditional leaders were legally bound to ensure the safety of the initiates in their jurisdiction by the Customary Initiation Act of 2021.
He added:
If crime is found to have been committed in the act of initiation, [such as] those who shot and killed the initiates, the [longest] sentence should be handed down as a deterrent for their crime, negligence, and/or botched circumcision and penal amputations.
Mabuyane said the provincial government bolstered monitoring systems through ward-based initiation forums, community development workers and traditional leaders.
He added:
As the province, we are disheartened with all these negative developments surrounding our initiation schools. We want to send out our words of condolences to the families who have lost their sons while undergoing the sacred rite of passage of traditional male circumcision.
“We remain committed in our strides of trying to ensure a safe initiation season, and any element which poses a risk to that will be dealt with.”