The Alfred Nzo District Municipality (ANDM) Speaker, Councillor Sixolile Mehlomakhulu, visited the family of an initiate (21) who died at an initiation school at Mqeni Village in Mbizana to convey words of condolences, last week.
According to the statement, issued by the ANDM spokesperson, Lixolile Petela, the exact cause of death had not been confirmed by the Department of Health, but he is reported to have complained of stomach pain, and later started vomiting and becoming disoriented.
In an engagement with the Local Initiation Forum, ANDM established that even though the initiation school was legal, it was non-compliant with the requirements of an initiation school recognised by the authorities,” said Petela.
He added that it was established that some of the initiates had no documentation from the traditional leadership and screening by the Department of Health was not done to ascertain their readiness to undergo the rite of passage.
Mehlomakhulu called for the closing of illegal initiation schools and committed to closely monitoring all initiation schools in the district to ensure compliance in order to save lives.
Petela said he pleaded to parents and young boys to make sure that they go to initiation schools that are known by local traditional councils and that are registered with the Department of Health.
Mehlomakhulu urged that initiates must be given sufficient water at the initiation schools to avoid dehydration.
“All those responsible for the illegal initiation schools and subsequent deaths of our young men must be brought to account.
“Criminal cases must now be opened for perpetrators in order to set an example to stop the deaths of our youth,” said Mehlomakhulu.
He also committed to working with all stakeholders to continue monitoring the initiation season to ensure that initiation was done properly in order to save lives.
So far only one death has been reported in the district.
