The deputy chairperson of the National Initiation Oversight Committee (NIOC), Mr Bruce Mbedzi, has issued a warning to all traditional leaders and traditional healers that they must have permission to operate traditional circumcision schools in the country.
Speaking to Limpopo Mirror earlier this week, Mbedzi pointed out that traditional healers are no longer allowed to operate traditional circumcision schools without permission like before.
He warned that people are not allowed to kidnap and take young boys to traditional schools without the approval of their parents or legal guardians. "It is illegal to kidnap boys and take them to an initiation school without the knowledge of their parents or guardians. Parents and guardians are allowed by law to open a kidnapping case at the police station and even ask the police to accompany them to the initiation school to retrieve their boys and take them home immediately."
He said that, during the application process, applicants were informed about the dos and the do nots concerning the running of traditional circumcision schools. "Children must first be screened by the Department of Health before they attend traditional circumcision schools, to check that they do not go there with other diseases or illnesses," he said.
Mbedzi further warned that those who defied the Customary Initiation Act (CIA) woulda be arrested and prosecuted. "The department is doing all in its power to prevent the high number of initiates who die at initiation schools. We have already lost a number of initiates in the Eastern Cape at the moment, and we shall leave no stone unturned in making sure that things are done according to the laws of this country. Anyone who disrespects the rights of children and forces them into initiation schools illegally will face the full might of the law," he said.