Parliament’s portfolio committee on traditional affairs said it was concerned about the fatality even after it had actively engaged with all parties responsible for the initiation in the Eastern Cape.
FILE: A Xhosa initiate stands during a traditional initiation process in a village hut on July 11, 2017 in the Kawa Bay area of Umtata, South Africa. Photo: AFP
CAPE TOWN – South Africa has recorded the first death of an initiate during the 2022 summer initiation season.
Parliamentarians have expressed sadness over the recent death in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape.
The last initiation season began in early November.
READ: Mabuyane ‘alarmed’ to see 31 EU initiatives die this summer
At least 36 initiators died in the Eastern Cape last season.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on traditional affairs said it was concerned about the fatality even after it had actively engaged with all parties responsible for the initiation in the Eastern Cape.
In July, Members of Parliament (MPs) met with the National Initiative Oversight Committee, the Provincial Initiative Coordinating Committee, the National House of Traditional Leaders, the Provincial Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and law enforcement agencies.
They wanted to make sure there were practical measures in place to prevent the scale of self-inflicted deaths the country had seen over the years.
One of the main concerns of the committee was the general non-compliance with the Initiation Customs Act and the growth of illegal initiation schools that outnumber legal schools and the admission of underage boys.
READ: Reports of Initiation Deaths in Legal and Illegal Schools – Rights Commission CRL
The CRL Rights Commission has previously revealed that at least 700 initiatives have died in the Eastern Cape in less than a decade.
The deputies are planning the next inspection visit in early December.
