Van Rooyen ‘glad’ that winter initiation death toll declines

A total of 27 boys died during this year’s winter male initiation season‚ which was far fewer that the death toll recorded last year.This was revealed by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) on Tuesday following the end of the initiation season on July 16 and 17.In a statement‚ Cogta said that despite the efforts of government to prevent deaths of initiates there were 27 deaths recorded this year.