The Mashilo Tribal Authority says it has completed the almost three-month initiation period without any fatalities, having more than 400 initiates graduate from an initiation school in KwaMhlanga, Mpumalanga.

The provincial MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Kgoshi  Mashilo, commends the initiation schools and says the secret to a smooth initiation season is to take care of the initiates properly.

“We don’t believe the child must die during initiation. They must eat, they must do everything, they must get water. The message we gave to the initiates is that a real man does not beat a woman, does not beat a wife, does not rape, does not impose harm on anyone. That is not in terms of culture but something that must be instilled in them.”

The medical practitioner, who cared for the initiates Dr Vusi Masombuka, says this year’s initiation season was very challenging.

“We had about nine pneumonia cases, we also had some diarrhea cases, and one case of acute stroke. So it is evident that having a doctor on site is very important, because those pneumonias could have been detrimental. However, we decided to treat them accurately and sent some initiates to hospital and they were admitted but returned to the school when they were fit enough to continue.”