At least two initiates are confirmed to have died in the rite of passage kraals of the former KwaNdebele homeland in Mpumalanga‚ barely a day after undergoing the sacred practice shrouded in secrecy.
However‚ Ndebele king Makhosoke Mabena II‚ speaking through a spokesperson‚ said unconfirmed reports put the death toll at six.
Last week Sunday thousands of boys in the deep traditional area‚ about 100km north east of Pretoria‚ began their two-month seclusion to undergo Ingoma (initiation)‚ a sacred rite of passage that has been marred by fatalities.
in 2013 thirty-one youngsters perished due to negligence and botched circumcisions. Most deaths were blamed on preventable complications‚ such as excessive bleeding and exposure to extremely cold conditions.
Concerned parents had pinned their hopes for the well-being and safe return of their children on the intervention of a group called the Ingoma Forum‚ a group of medical doctors and health practitioners who have gone through the rite of passage‚ but that hope now hangs in the balance.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson‚ Brigadier Leonard Hlathi‚ said two cases of culpable homicide have been reported where initiates experienced complications that led to their deaths.
“The two victims were registered as initiates on the 25th of April at KwaMhlanga and Kwaggafontein. The 21-year-old young men met their demise the following day at health care centres‚ KwaMhlanga hospital and Kwaggafontein clinic‚ respectively‚” he said.
Hlathi said no one had been arrested.
The Ndebele king’s spokesperson‚ Msilingwa Mabena‚ said unconfirmed reports were that the number of deaths had reached a total of six.
“That is what we hear but that information still needs to be verified by the (Ingoma) Forum. We heard that the deaths were recorded in Bronkhorstpruit‚ KwaMhlanga‚ Gemsbok‚ Witbank‚ Kwaggafontein and the Dr JS Moroka municipality (in Siyabuswa)‚” he said.
Mabena sent condolences to the bereaved families‚ saying investigations must be conducted and any one found to have acted negligently must face the full might of the law.
“The King is also pleading with the Ndebele nation to stop playing marbles with our cultures and traditions because this would spell its demise‚” he said.
Death stalks initiation kraals
At least two initiates are confirmed to have died in the rite of passage kraals of the former KwaNdebele homeland in Mpumalanga‚ barely a day after undergoing the sacred practice shrouded in secrecy.
However‚ Ndebele king Makhosoke Mabena II‚ speaking through a spokesperson‚ said unconfirmed reports put the death toll at six.
Last week Sunday thousands of boys in the deep traditional area‚ about 100km north east of Pretoria‚ began their two-month seclusion to undergo Ingoma (initiation)‚ a sacred rite of passage that has been marred by fatalities.
in 2013 thirty-one youngsters perished due to negligence and botched circumcisions. Most deaths were blamed on preventable complications‚ such as excessive bleeding and exposure to extremely cold conditions.
Concerned parents had pinned their hopes for the well-being and safe return of their children on the intervention of a group called the Ingoma Forum‚ a group of medical doctors and health practitioners who have gone through the rite of passage‚ but that hope now hangs in the balance.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson‚ Brigadier Leonard Hlathi‚ said two cases of culpable homicide have been reported where initiates experienced complications that led to their deaths.
“The two victims were registered as initiates on the 25th of April at KwaMhlanga and Kwaggafontein. The 21-year-old young men met their demise the following day at health care centres‚ KwaMhlanga hospital and Kwaggafontein clinic‚ respectively‚” he said.
Hlathi said no one had been arrested.
The Ndebele king’s spokesperson‚ Msilingwa Mabena‚ said unconfirmed reports were that the number of deaths had reached a total of six.
“That is what we hear but that information still needs to be verified by the (Ingoma) Forum. We heard that the deaths were recorded in Bronkhorstpruit‚ KwaMhlanga‚ Gemsbok‚ Witbank‚ Kwaggafontein and the Dr JS Moroka municipality (in Siyabuswa)‚” he said.
Mabena sent condolences to the bereaved families‚ saying investigations must be conducted and any one found to have acted negligently must face the full might of the law.
“The King is also pleading with the Ndebele nation to stop playing marbles with our cultures and traditions because this would spell its demise‚” he said.
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