Eastern Cape government authorities and traditional leaders have committed to ensuring that there are no deaths this initiation season.
More than 500 traditional surgeons and an additional 500 traditional nurses (amakhankatha) have been trained.
In the past 10 years this ritual has been tarnished by the death of young boys. About 500 initiates have died and 300 lost their manhood due to botched circumcisions.
A number of strategies have been introduced to restore dignity and pride to this ritual.
Traditional Leader Mxolisi Gebengana says, “As old traditional surgeons we were not aware of the fact that there were diseases that are carried from person to person through blood in our operating instruments. We now know because of this training. We used to operate using one object in over 20 boys but now we know that’s not good through this training.”
Traditional leaders have called on elderly men to play an active role and monitor all activities taking place at initiation schools in their respective areas.
Chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana says, “We want men that are experienced in each and every locality to be committed to oversee these circumcision lodges to make sure that everything that happens there is in accordance with custom, in other words there are no drugs and also there’s no ill treatment of boys there and of course there are no injuries and death.”
Authorities say those who do it for commercial purposes will face the full might of the law.
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