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FILE IMAGE: Initiates in a field in the Eastern Cape.
The Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, is on an urgent oversight visit to the Eastern Cape, following a rise in the deaths of initiates during the summer initiation period.
Police have opened 45 criminal cases and arrested 31 people for unlawful circumcision and breaking initiation laws in the Eastern Cape.
The visit is also aimed at assessing conditions at initiation schools and strengthening preventative measures.
Burns- Ncamashes says, “We are now sitting at 17 deaths in the Eastern Cape only, in the middle of the season. Now, this largely could be attributed to high levels of negligence, particularly on the part of the parents.”
“When I got the report of what happened to the 17 initiates, dehydration, for instance, seems to be the biggest problem. Now ask yourself a simple question: where is the parent to guide the initiate- where is the traditional nurse under the supervision of the parent?”
WATCH | About 13 initiates have died in the OR Tambo District, Eastern Cape, during the current initiation season. Nkululeko Nyembezi reports. pic.twitter.com/OMAMmSEfVM
— SABC News (@SABCNews) December 18, 2025
