Former Premier of Limpopo and current Deputy Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Stanley Chupu Mathabatha, is among the multitudes of young men presently enrolled in initiation schools (Komeng) to attain their manhood.
He is 68.
Sunday World has been reliably informed that Mathabatha is indeed one of several hundred initiates at the Mathabatha initiation school. The school is located in Tjiane village, near his homestead in Tooseng village, Ga-Mphahlele, outside Lebowakgomo in the Capricorn District.
Like his fellow initiates, he is anticipated to undergo the essential rites of passage required for the attainment of manhood.
Just one of the boys
“I can confirm that Chupu Mathabatha is among close to 500 initiates at Komeng ya Mathabatha, based in Tjiane village, where I am currently supervising several boys during this year’s initiation,” one of the men overseeing the initiates confirmed.
The source further divulged to Sunday World that Mathabatha arrived at the initiation school accompanied by a cadre of elders, including an Induna from one of the Bakgaga Baga Mphahlele villages. The Induna will provide guidance throughout the process.
“Unlike the other initiates who have been at the school for more than a week now, Mathabatha arrived at the initiation school on Friday afternoon, accompanied by numerous elders, including one Induna who will oversee him throughout the duration.”
“He is not interacting with the other boys, who remain oblivious to his presence, and a special tent has been erected with all necessary provisions for his accommodation,” stated our source.
Mathabatha is not the first prominent ANC politician to attend an initiation school at an advanced age. Fikile Mbalula, now the secretary-general of the organisation, was inducted and compelled to undergo initiation in the remote bushes of Phillipi township, outside Cape Town, in 2008.
Aged 37 then, Mbalula spent a month in a traditional hut for the purpose of his initiation process. Upon completion, he was transported to Bloemfontein aboard Tokyo Sexwale’s private jet.
Tried and tested combatant
Mathabatha joined the African National Congress (ANC)’s liberation army Umkhonto We Sizwe (MK) at the tender age of 20 in 1977, following the tumultuous events of the 1976 Soweto uprising.
He was inaugurated as Limpopo Premier in July 2013, a position he held for over two decades, until June 2024, when he was succeeded by the current Premier, Dr. Phophi Ramathuba.
