The initiation fatalities toll in the Eastern Cape has risen to 16 following the death of an initiate after he was allegedly severely assaulted by a traditional nurse.
The initiate died on Friday after he had been admitted to hospital following the July 1 assault in King William’s Town.
This is the second initiate to die in the Buffalo City metro this season, following a death in Mdantsane last month.
Co-operative governance & traditional affairs spokesperson Mamkeli Ngam said: “It is alleged that the initiate was severely assaulted by someone believed to a traditional nurse after he could not immediately understand the lingo taught at the school.”
King William’s Town police spokesperson Captain Siphokazi Mawisa said: “A 19year-old male was arrested following a case of murder that was reported at the King William’s Town police station.”
Buffalo City metro traditional initiation forum chair, Prince Stanley Makinana, expressed shock at the death of the initiate, saying he was only 17.
“He was vomiting blood and his body was full of sjambok marks,” Makinana said.