Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has called for swift justice following the death of 27 initiates in Mpumalanga.
Expressing his outrage at the death of the initiates, who died at different initiation schools in Belfast, Kwaggafontein, Siyabuswa, Verena, Evander, Middelburg and KwaMhlanga, President Zuma described the deaths as “an unnecessary loss of young lives at the hands of those who were supposed to nurture and protect them”.
“It cannot be acceptable that every time young men reach this crucial time in their development, their lives are culled in the most painful of ways, in the care of circumcision schools,” said Zuma.
The President reassured families and communities that government was determined to ensure that young men’s passage to manhood was safe and without death or harm in the future.
“While we welcome action taken by police so far in opening murder dockets, we wish to urge them to ensure swift justice for the families and that those responsible for the deaths are brought to book without delay,” said President Zuma.
The initiates, according to the provincial Department of Health, died from excessive bleeding and dehydration.
The department said the initiation schools, where the 27 young men died, were illegal and not known to the Ndebele monarch, King Mabhoko III, or the department itself.
In response to the deaths, Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza has sent a technical team to the initiation schools in the Nkangala region to investigate the circumstances that led to the deaths.
The team comprises the Heads of the Departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Health and Community Safety Security and Liaison. They will work closely with the South African Police Services, who are already on the scene.
The team has been given until Friday [25 May 2013] to report back to the Premier in order for urgent interventions to be implemented.
This is the first time the province experience such a huge number of causalities from the initiation schools.
Meanwhile, the province was also stepping up its campaign to pass the Ingoma Bill, which seeks to ensure that initiation schools are regulated, monitored and held accountable.
It is estimated that over 30 000 initiates are currently at various initiations schools in the province.
“This has come as a shock to all of us, we send our deepest sympathy to the bereaved families. We trust that the investigations by the team working with the police will assist us as a provincial government to establish the causes.
“We fully support the culture, and working with the department of health we have already sent medical teams deployed to the initiation schools to provide primary health care services. - SAnews.gov.za
