AN illegal circumcision school in Phokoane, Limpopo, was shut down yesterday and 112 initiates were transferred to another school.

The closure of the school follows the arrest of two school owners, Doctor Mashilo and Mmesi Maserumule, who were arrested in June for allegedly forging certificates to run the school.

Police said Maseremula masqueraded as a chief and forgeile Mashilo was arrested for running the school with a bogus certificate.

The two, who are out on warning, face charges of fraud and will appear again in the Nebo magistrate's court on August 12.

Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mohale Ramatseba said the police acted on a tip-off from members of the public that the school was operating illegally.

"We worked with the Limpopo Koma School task team, which oversees the running of komas in the province, to arrest the suspects. The initiates were transferred by ambulance to a legal school in Leeukraal," he said.

Limpopo Koma School task team chairperson Khosi Vusani Netshimbupfe said it was a criminal offence to open initiation schools without a valid permit from the task team.

"Those who operate without such certificates contravene the law and will be punished."