Although the Western Cape's summer initiation season seems to be going on as planned in other towns of the province, two initiates have already lost their lives so far in Cape Town.
Sikelela Zokufa, from the Somagwaza Institute, a heritage and cultural group, confirmed to Weekend Argus that two initiates from a Khayelitsha initiation camp have lost their lives due to neglect.
Zokufa said the boys died as a result of neglect, possibly by those who were assigned to take care of them.
"The summer initiation season is going well so far with no major issues; however, in the midst of all that is good that we are doing, we find such regrettable cases. It appears that the boys died as a result of neglect from their families or those who are assigned to take care of them," he said.
Zokufa said this is something they always encourage parents who will take their children to the initiative schools to always make sure that they take care of their boys while they are at the mountain, and attend meetings organised by local initiation forums, and also make sure that they are aware of their kids' pre existing health conditions before taking them to the initiation schools.
"These underlying illnesses come out and tend to be a threat later, which contributes to deaths if they are not treated earlier," Zokufa said.
Mzwandile Gingcana, from the George Initiation Forum, said that in George and in the entire Southern Cape, there hadn’t been any deaths reported yet and that everything was going as planned so far.
"What we have only noticed is slight decrease in the number of initiates compared to last year's summer initiation season," said Gingcana
He said that last year there were about 170 initiates in George, and this year there’s about 150. He added that this could be attributed to a number of factors such as some parents not having money, and also that many boys went to initiation schools in large numbers just after Covid-19.
Zokufa said in the Cape Town metro, things were different as the numbers of initiates had slightly increased; last year they were about 1 500 and this year they are just above 5 000.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Cape's summer initiation season, the death toll has risen to 20. It has been reported that the initiates died from various causes including dehydration, underage circumcision, underlying health comorbidities and diabetes.
Asked about the current progress of the Western Cape Initiation School, the Department of Cultural Affairs stated that it was unable to comment on the current initiation season as it was still in progress.
“We will release a statement once the season concludes at the end of January 2023. The Department of Cultural Affairs continues to provide any support needed to registered initiation sites and initiation forums across the province.
“The department is committed to supporting this sacred and important tradition to ensure safe initiation for all,” said Tania Colyn, the department’s spokesperson.