When a Johannesburg teen was bullied at school and not allowed to share a toilet with circumcised fellow pupils‚ he secretly went to an initiation school‚ only to suffer more abuse.
His mother‚ who lives in the Sedibeng area‚ was testifying at hearings conducted by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Rights of Cultural‚ Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) on the deaths of initiates in Gauteng.
She said in 2013‚ her son was who was in grade 11 at the time‚ told her that he could not use the toilets at school because the circumcised boys were victimising those who had not gone through initiation.
“When I heard about what was going on at school‚ I asked my son to stop attending school if that was the case. He however decided to go to school and he one day vanished.”
The woman‚ who asked not to be identified‚ said she went to the initiation school to see how her son was doing‚ but she found him injured.
“He could not get up. I asked him what was wrong. He stood up‚ uncovered his blanket and showed me the burns on his feet.
“I asked the [traditional guardian] what had happened to my son. He said a pot of pap fell on his legs.”
The woman said she was charged R1200 by the guardian for the initiation process.
She said her son quit school and has now become a gangster.
“When he came back from the mountain‚ he did not want to go back to school. He started smoking nyaope and glue. He steals phones to feed his addiction.”
The woman pleaded with commission to intervene in her case as her son now physically abuses her.
“All the boys he went to the initiation school with have turned into gangsters and are on nyaope.”
The commission will be conducting investigations into the deaths of the initiates across the country. — TMG Digital
Teen opted to go to initiation school after being victimised for not being circumcised
When a Johannesburg teen was bullied at school and not allowed to share a toilet with circumcised fellow pupils‚ he secretly went to an initiation school‚ only to suffer more abuse.
His mother‚ who lives in the Sedibeng area‚ was testifying at hearings conducted by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Rights of Cultural‚ Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) on the deaths of initiates in Gauteng.
She said in 2013‚ her son was who was in grade 11 at the time‚ told her that he could not use the toilets at school because the circumcised boys were victimising those who had not gone through initiation.
“When I heard about what was going on at school‚ I asked my son to stop attending school if that was the case. He however decided to go to school and he one day vanished.”
The woman‚ who asked not to be identified‚ said she went to the initiation school to see how her son was doing‚ but she found him injured.
“He could not get up. I asked him what was wrong. He stood up‚ uncovered his blanket and showed me the burns on his feet.
“I asked the [traditional guardian] what had happened to my son. He said a pot of pap fell on his legs.”
The woman said she was charged R1200 by the guardian for the initiation process.
She said her son quit school and has now become a gangster.
“When he came back from the mountain‚ he did not want to go back to school. He started smoking nyaope and glue. He steals phones to feed his addiction.”
The woman pleaded with commission to intervene in her case as her son now physically abuses her.
“All the boys he went to the initiation school with have turned into gangsters and are on nyaope.”
The commission will be conducting investigations into the deaths of the initiates across the country. — TMG Digital
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