The impasse between traditional leaders and government over reopening initiation schools nationally ramped up on Wednesday as the national working committee (NWC) of Contralesa told traditional leaders and parents to start preparing for the summer circumcision season.
Speaking after a NWC meeting on Wednesday, Contralesa general secretary and ANC MP Zolani Mkiva said traditional leaders still held the view that the summer initiation season should be allowed, under strict guidelines and regulations.
“We cannot allow a situation wherein initiation rites are singled out under alert level 1 as the only ritual that must not happen. If we continue with the suspension of initiation rites, we believe that it will cause more harm than solve the challenges caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19,” Mkiva said.
He said the continued suspension will create a humongous proliferation of bogus initiation schools.
“This will have a negative affect on all the young people who have been waiting in anticipation. They can see that churches are open, leisure events are happening, alcohol is on sale, big bashes are hosted all over the country. Given all this, there is no rationale or justification for the continued ban on initiation,” Mkiva said.
On Monday, Cogta issued a statement saying the traditional initiation practices remain officially suspended in a bid to contain Covid-19.
“Since alert level 5 to alert level 1, the country remains in consensus and united that the need to save lives is sacrosanct. As such, all stakeholders understand that though the prohibition has been detrimental to this essential cultural practice, it is only in the interest of protecting initiates that initiation remains suspended,” reads the statement.
Cogta confirmed that the statement was issued by deputy minister Obed Bapela — and Contralesa in response called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to reprimand and remove Bapela from his cabinet.
In the past two weeks, an initiate from Nyandeni local municipality has died from a botched circumcision, while 38 boys have been rescued and reunited with their parents.
“It will totally be impossible to work with him (Bapela). The insult he has levelled against us makes him persona non grata,” Mkiva said.
He said Controlesa is dismayed at Bapela’s misleading statement on Monday. Controlesa accused Bapela of not consulting with all traditional structures before issuing his statement.
Contralesa president Kgoshi Mathupa Mokoena said he had a telephone discussion with Ramaphosa in which the president acknowledged that there was no decision taken by the national command council to ban summer circumcision.
“Ramaphosa gave assurance to our leadership that we will be meeting soon to finalise all outstanding matters,” he said. “It is only the institution of traditional leadership that is a custodian of our traditional customs and rituals.”
This week, Buffalo City Metro Circumcision Forum's Stanley Makinana said the organisation had already rescued 28 initiates in the metro alone since the start of the illegal initiations in November.
Makinana said their worry was that some boys had already been circumcised and were being kept in back rooms at their homes where they were being attended to by traditional nurses.
He said parents were calling the forum every day about when their children could be circumcised.
“As much as traditional leaders want the government to allow people to continue with their cultural practice, we are also asking parents to respect the decision to suspend initiation. We are asking everyone to obey the law.”
Both Eastern Cape Contralesa and the House of Traditional Leaders expressed anger that the government was continuing with the ban on initiation schools.
Contralesa provincial chair Nkosi Mwelo Nonkonyana said traditional leaders may be faced with a rebellion in the communities. Nonkonyana accused the national government of being involved in a ploy to promote male medical circumcision at the expense of traditional circumcision.
Nonkonyana’s accusations were backed by Mokoena who accused some in government of trying to enrich themselves using male medical circumcision. However, he urged communities to be patient and allow traditional leaders a space in which to engage the national government further.
Meanwhile Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders acting chair Nkosi Langa Mavuso accused Cogta minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Bapela of avoiding a meeting with traditional leaders.
The impasse happens Eastern Cape traditional leaders are worked with Walter Sisulu University to develop a plan to lower Covid-19 risks ahead of the summer initiation season. Mavuso said the plan included establishing Covid-19 health protocols and a health support programme.
While Eastern Cape Cogta spokesperson Mamnkeli Ngam said the number of boys rescued was 10 in Nyandeni and 28 in BCM. Ngam said two parents and two traditional surgeons were arrested in BCM area.
“The department is waiting for an official pronouncement from national Cogta on the way forward about the summer season. The consultation process with key stakeholders assured the department about the state of readiness,” Ngam said.
However, Ngam said his department always emphasises the central role parents and families play in the initiation of their children.
“It is not the government's responsibility to send the boys to the bush, but rather to intervene where there are deaths,” he said.
During the 2019 summer circumcision hundreds of boys were rescued from illegal circumcision schools and 28 died. According to the Eastern Cape Customary Male Initiation Practice Act only boys 18 years and older can undergo the rite.
The act places the responsibility for policing the custom on the shoulders of traditional leaders, who have to ensure traditional surgeons and nurses comply. It states that anyone operating an initiation school without written approval from both his local traditional leader and the health MEC faces a R20,000 fine or a year in jail.
The act states if any initiate dies at that school, the penalty is at least 25 years in prison. Anyone who circumcises or allows a child under the age of 18 to be circumcised is liable to be sentenced to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of R10,000.
According to the provincial Cogta department, 500 boys have died at initiation schools over the past five years. In that time, 191 people have been arrested and fewer than 75 cases have been brought before court, leading to only 14 convictions.
Early this year, Dr Mbuyiselo Madiba, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital head of urology, called for traditional circumcision in the Eastern Cape — where most of the deaths happen — to be banned for a year.
Cogta spokesperson Lunga Mtshali was not available for comment.
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