Rite death total rampages upward

Five Eastern Cape initiates died over the weekend in separate incidents, taking the total number of deaths to 14 since the start of the winter circumcision season.

A further 18 initiates have been admitted to a Lusikisiki rescue centre since Wednesday.

Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said another 141 had been admitted at other hospitals since the season began last month.

Police yesterday also confirmed that two bogus traditional surgeons aged 23 and 25 had been arrested at the weekend.

The OR Tambo district has recorded the highest number of deaths so far – five in Nyandeni, four in Mhlontlo and one in Qawukeni in the eastern Mpondoland area.

A further two initiates died in Chris Hani and one in Dutywa in the Amathole district. A single death has also been recorded in Flagstaff in the Alfred Nzo district.

At least eight deaths have been attributed to illegal initiation schools.

Kupelo said in two of the latest incidents, two initiates died in Mhlontlo and Queenstown on Saturday.

“An initiate died in the casualty ward in Frontier Hospital on Saturday while another died in the Showbury area,” he said, adding he did not yet have all the details for the other three initiates who lost their lives at the weekend.

He said of the 141 admitted at hospitals since the start of the initiation season, 117 came from the OR Tambo district.

“The government is doing everything in its power to save lives but unfortunately people demonstrate a complete disregard for life,” said Kupelo. “They are greedy and concerned only with money and liquor. We can’t continue counting bodies.”

The 18 from Qawukeni and Flagstaff are recovering at a rescue centre set up by non-governmental organisation, the Community Development Foundation of South Africa (Codefsa), which has set up a second rescue centre in Ntlaza.

Codefsa director Nkululeko Nxesi said some of the rescued initiates were as young as 13.

“What is painful is that by now we know what the problems are.

“It’s the same thing – dehydration and lack of proper wound care management.

“The cases are almost the same.”

He said the issue of underage initiates could be due to peer pressure where they ended up undergoing the ritual without parental consent.

Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders chairman Nkosi Ngangomhlaba Matanzima said he was not shocked at the increase in the death toll.

Matanzima said it was time to re-strategise and focus more on raising awareness of the role parents play and on the initiates themselves.

“They [parents and initiates] must take some of the blame,” he said, adding that parents should ensure they had traditional nurses with experience to look after their children.

In many cases boys as young as 14 were going to initiation schools without the knowledge of their parents.

Cooperative and traditional affairs MEC Fikile Xasa, who led a delegation including senior officials from both his department and health to hospitals in Libode and Mthatha last week, described the deaths as an embarrassment to the Eastern Cape. He said a plan was needed urgently to put a stop to further deaths.

“We were aiming for zero [deaths] this season. Now it looks like there is a death or two every day. We cannot let this happen.”

He urged parents to play a greater role, saying they should be the ones to ensure that they send their sons to legitimate and respected traditional surgeons.

At least 400000 boys underwent the traditional rite of passage in the province between June 2006 and December 2014.

In total, 532 initiates have died, 233 had penile amputations and 5586 were admitted to hospital.

Only 257 arrests have been made.

Mthatha police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said the two bogus traditional surgeons arrested at the weekend were in Nyandeni. -Sikho Ntshobane and Lulamile Feni, DispatchLive