'Nothing untoward' in Mbalula's initiation

Published Sep 9, 2008

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A family representative of ANC national working committee member Fikile Mbalula has rejected reports that he had been taken to a traditional initiation school to prevent him from continuing with his probe into the ANC in the Western Cape.

He was asked to make inquiries after complaints were lodged that some ANC branch meetings were not properly constituted.

Family spokesperson and ANC Youth League (ANCYL) national executive member Zizi Kodwa said the reason for Mbalula's voluntary entry into an initiation school was cultural.

"We come from a tradition where our men go to the mountain. So it is part of the culture. Fikile has not done anything unusual.

"He continues to do what in the Mbalula family has been done for years," Kodwa said.

The Times had reported that 36-year-old Mbalula, the former ANCYL president, had been spirited away to a traditional initiation school in Philippi. It said there were claims that Mbalula, who is married, was taken for initiation against his wishes.

Kodwa said Mbalula wanted to go for initiation in 2004, but his ANCYL colleagues felt his leadership was needed and the timing was not right.

Asked why Mbalula was initiated in Cape Town, Kodwa said: "In 2004 he spoke of his readiness to be initiated. When he approached the family, he wanted to come to Cape Town.

"This is a cultural tradition and it is immaterial where you undergo it. He chose the Western Cape because of his close relationship with comrades there. The Mbalula family is all over and in Cape Town he has family."

Initiation, which includes circumcision and teachings on manhood, normally happens when a boy reaches 18. It is also believed that an uninitiated male should be regarded as a boy and should not be in the same company of initiated men.

Kodwa said Mbalula was expected to return from the initiation school in a few weeks' time.

"It normally takes a maximum of a month. We hope that by the end of the month we will welcome him back as a man," he said.

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