By Anita Dangazele
- The boys, aged 12 to 16, were found abandoned and in poor condition, with no adult supervision at the illegal school.
- Traditional leaders say the boys were not kidnapped and are receiving care.
Sixteen underage boys rescued from an illegal initiation school near Port St Johns have been at the centre of a standoff between traditional leaders and angry parents.
The boys, aged between 12 and 16, were found abandoned at the illegal site over the weekend with no nurses or adult guardians present. Some were still healing from their circumcisions.
They were rescued by the OR Tambo traditional initiation monitoring forum and taken to a rescue centre in Tsolo for medical care and protection.
But on Sunday, about 200 parents and villagers from Ntsimbini blocked the R61 road between Mthatha and Port St Johns, demanding the children be returned home. They accused the forum of kidnapping the boys.
Forum chair Nkosi Zwelithobile Lutuka rejected the claims. “We are protecting the initiates from stigmatisation. No child was kidnapped. The parents were told why we rescued them and about their medical conditions,” he said.
A 25-year-old man was arrested for unlawfully circumcising 11 of the boys.
Lutuka said the children were not yet ready to be discharged. He added that the forum was working with the education department to ensure the boys’ schooling continues.
Nkosi Mpumalanga Gwadiso from the Eastern Cape House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders said the children were not being held in jail but in a traditional hospital to help them heal safely and avoid trauma.
The provincial government praised the rescue team for acting quickly and saving lives.
So far this winter, seven initiates have died, a drop from 29 deaths in December 2024. About 50 boys are still in hospital.
Lutuka said it was “utterly disgraceful” that parents chose to block roads instead of helping protect their children.
Pictured above: Initiates.
Image source: File
