Pretoria - The deaths of initiates have triggered the custodian of cultural practices, the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa), to develop a “systematic death free plan”.
Contralesa general secretary Kgosi Setlamorago Thobejane said they were disturbed by the deaths of initiates, hence they wanted to “move away from foreign tendencies in their cultural practice, where people are after money”.
“We’ve already scheduled a national conference, which will probably be held in Gauteng, where initiation schools will be top of our agenda. Contralesa cannot continue to be part of the culture that kills people.
“Death free initiation schools is non-negotiable. We want to emerge from our national conference with a systematic death free plan because we don’t want to reduce, but to totally bring to an end the deaths of our initiates,” he said.
The indigenous leader of the Bapedi ba Mmafefe tribe was addressing reporters at the National Press Club in Pretoria on Friday.
The outspoken leader also apologised to the nation for the unnecessary deaths at initiation schools across the country.
“We want to apologise to the nation and once again extend our heartfelt condolences to the families who’ve lost their loved ones. Our view as Contralesa is that it should not have happened in that way,” he said.
Kgosi Thobejane also announced that since 2004, the cultural practice has attracted over a million initiates; however, he said during the same period, a total of 250 initiates lost their lives.
Without giving figures, he said the Eastern Cape had the most deaths, followed by Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
He said the national conference, which will also culminate in electing the new leadership, will also look into the importance of establishing a Council of Initiation Schools, which will comprise graduate initiates, traditional leaders as well as other relevant stakeholders such as government.
Asked about the required age of initiates, Kgosi Thobejane said: “In Limpopo, North West, Free State and Mpumalanga, the preferred age was 12 years, while in the Western and Eastern Cape it is 18.”
The traditional leader also used the platform to appeal to the nation to support their efforts to stop deaths at initiation schools, adding that their death free initiation strategy will prioritise the reduction of deaths at the Eastern Cape initiation schools.
“We agree that we’ve lost track of our cultural practice as we’ve fallen as the custodian of this practice, which our people like so much. We need the support of everybody in our society, including those who did not go to the mountains, to share their positive views about this cultural practice instead of criticising it,” he said.
With regard to the call to abolish initiation schools, Contralesa national treasure general, Gambani Mabena, said: “This culture has been practiced by our forbearers for years, so it will continue to be practiced by generations to come. What is needed now is to come up with smarter ways with the challenges we are currently facing.”
This also prompted Kgosi Thobejane to add his voice: “Remember, we represent about 84 percent of the South African population, so this practice will never be abolished. Working together with government, we need to practice this culture in a very respectful way.” - SAnews.gov.za
