A senior traditional leader has made a bizarre claim blaming the deaths of 29 initiates in the Eastern Cape on “the wrath of the ancestors”.
Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) provincial chairperson in Eastern Cape, chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, who made the startling statement in an interview with Sunday World this week, also proposed a two-year moratorium on initiation rites to allow for measures to tackle the problem.
In 2023 a national initiation indaba organised by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities heard that at least 700 initiates had died while undergoing the right of passage since 2006.
“Hundreds have died in the previous years and that means we do not have a future if the leaders of the future continue to die like this.
“We are calling for a two-year moratorium on the custom to allow engagements with different communities, traditional leaders, and government,” Nonkonyana told Sunday World.
Previous reports indicated ini-tiates died from botched circumcision procedures, dehydration and underlying health issues, among other factors.
“In the olden days, it was not allowed for families to take boy children to the mountain without at least one boy from the royal family being a part of that,” Nonkonyana said.
“This was done for regulation as the royal family would choose ingcibi (traditional nurse) and the indigenous nurse, based on experience and knowledge of the custom.
“However, government interfered with the process, hence we have bogus nurses who kill children in the name of circumcision,” he explained.
Nonkonyana further said these deaths meant the future of the country was bleak.
“The process of circumcision is no longer followed; there are no teachings that are passed on to the boys. Instead, we are burying our children.
“We want traditional leaders to lead the circumcision tradition and government to support it, like how it was in the past,” Nonkonyana added.
However, Bakoena Traditional Council chief Khomotsoana Gregory Lebenya dismissed calls to suspend initiations.
“We cannot afford to take a break on this. If Contralesa pushes for this two-year moratorium, the boys will go to illegal schools, which we do not promote,” said Lebenya.
He added that they requested a meeting to address this issue with the Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa.
“Why should we quit when there are over 8 000 initiates who will be returning home shortly and there have never been any fatalities? Circumcision needs to be done professionally, and we always make sure that the boys return home safely and alive.
“We will meet with the premier and minister for proof of our compliance.”
Last week, Hlabisa convened an emergency ministerial meeting in Eastern Cape to discuss the deaths of initiates.
“We have lost lives. Therefore, we cannot go on as if it is business as usual. Something drastic must happen to protect our youth who undertake this important cultural and traditional journey,” Hlabisa said.
