Illegal initiation school leaves two dead

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One person, aged 42, has died during an initiation at an illegal initiation school in the City of Tshwane while a second initiate, a 21-year-old young man died at a registered school in Ratanda, the Gauteng Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee (PICC) confirmed.

The winter initiation school season which coincide with the Gauteng provincial school holiday calendar started on Friday, June 23 and ended on Monday July 17.

The PICC revealed that it received a total of 87 applications for the registration of legal initiation schools throughout the province.

“Eighty three of these applications were for male initiation schools, while four were made for female initiation schools. Only six of these applications met the requirements and were successful.

“Legislature dictates that the PICC must monitor and evaluate the general functioning of initiation schools during initiation school period. It was during this monitoring process that two fatalities were reported during this period.

“One fatality involved a 42-year-old man that died during an initiation at an illegal initiation school in the city of Tshwane while a second initiate, a 21-year-old young man died at a registered school in Ratanda.

“Both cases are still under investigation by the SAPS and two suspects have since been arrested,” Gauteng PICC spokesperson Kiba Kekana explained.

Kekana said a total of 138 initiates were rescued and removed from illegal schools after the committee received reports of illegal initiation schools and nine illegal initiation schools were subsequently closed.

He added; “Amongst the common challenges experienced by the monitoring teams, involved the abduction and abuse of initiates, the death of initiates at unregistered schools, some parents withdraw cases because of threats from abductors or principals, and principals of unregistered initiation schools allow criminal activities including assault, abuse and the distribution of drugs and alcohol to minors.”

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With the summer initiation season now in planning phase, the committee has called on the relevant departments, law enforcement agencies and traditional leaders to increase both preventative and consequence management efforts to end the unnecessary and preventative carnage of initiates.

“We all agree that the deaths of two initiates are still too many. Every effort must therefore be made to ensure safety of the initiates and to prevent death from becoming normalised,” Kekana concluded.