COGTA pleads with parents to check legitimacy of initiation centres as death toll climbs
25 June 2018
Parents have been urged to verify the legitimacy of the places they send their sons for the circumcision rituals being conducted during the winter holidays, as the death toll increases to at least four boys.
"We have appealed, cap in hand, that parents must work with us," said Eastern Cape co-operative governance and traditional affairs spokesperson Mamnkeli Ngam.
He urged parents to take their children to a doctor for a check-up before sending them off to the traditional rite of passage, and to tell the police if they hear of illegal circumcision retreats.
He stressed that unknown "fly-by-night" people offering a place in an "initiation school" for a fee pose a high risk to the safety of the boys.