Hlabisa calls for a commission to probe initiate deaths in E Cape

Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says a commission of inquiry will be established to look into the deaths of initiates in the Eastern Cape.

📍Happening Today | Mthatha, Eastern Cape| The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, is today leading a meeting with Eastern Cape traditional leaders, headmen, and headwomen on ensuring safer customary initiation. pic.twitter.com/4lxMYGZhpP

— NationalCoGTA 🇿🇦 (@NationalCoGTA) February 22, 2025

He says this will assist to ensure there’s consequence management for those responsible for the deaths of initiates.

Hlabisa held a meeting with traditional leaders in Mthatha to find ways of making sure there are no deaths during initiation seasons.

The province recorded more than 20 deaths during the summer season. Hlabisa says those responsible for these deaths must face the full might of the law.

“There are many cases that are in the court of law as we speak and we are following these cases. As we said on the eighth, one of the proposals that comes from us as CoGTA is that we are going to write to the president and request that there be a commission of inquiry because a commission of inquiry will be able to go deep into all the cases. The cases that happened many years ago where there are records to see who was held accountable for the particular death. If no one was held accountable, that process will have to be attended to.”