By: Monelisi Sigabi
Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in conjunction with the Eastern Cape House of Traditional leaders hosted a Customary Male Initiation Engagement session at the East London Golf Club yesterday.
This follows after the summer initiation season recorded one of the highest death tolls in the Eastern Cape when 17 young boys lost their lives in 2018. The Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Fikile Xasa said the session was to engage traditional leaders and other key stakeholders on how to solve the issue of deaths during customary initiation in the province.
“We were given a chance by national government to prove that we are capable of handling this practice subsequent to the passing of a customary initiation bill in 2016 and things seemed to be getting better until we found ourselves in the same situation of an increasing mortality rate during initiation season,” said Xasa.
Xasa expressed that, in the future the focus will be more on the training of traditional surgeons, guardians in charge of youths undergoing customary initiation and parents.
EC House of Traditional Leaders chairperson Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyane said they will ensure that all those who break the customary initiation law are prosecuted. “Anyone that finds themselves in the wrong side of the law will be jailed. We also appeal to the minister of police to intervene.”
According to the National Prosecuting Authority prosecutor advocate Vuyani Genu, one of the challenges faced by the NPA is that victims of illegal circumcision refuse to come forward and testify against perpetrators.
“Many victims submit statements to withdraw from being witnesses in courts, making it difficult for us to successfully prosecute perpetrators.”
Genu added that to remedy this challenge, warrants of arrest must be issued against victims who protect the accused persons.
Medical doctor Mthandeki Xhamlashe advised parents to monitor their teenage boys health before they undergo traditional circumcision. “Medical doctors and guardians in charge of initiates are faced with the pressure of having to treat initiates with medical complications that mushroom from parents negligence.”
BCMM Initiation Forum chairperson Nkosi Stanley Makinana said they are delighted by the intervention of the provincial government and added that this will assist in addressing challenges faced by traditional initiation which includes educating parents of the dangers of sending underage children to be circumcised.
Traditional surgeon Andile Siko said he was happy with the engagement of all key stakeholders in an effort to decrease the death toll in initiation schools. He however showed discontent with the absence of many traditional surgeons and guardians in charge of youths undergoing customary initiation at the engagement.
“When it comes to circumcision, traditional surgeons and guardians in charge of initiates must be present in such events as these are the most important people during customary initiation,” said Siko.