By Anita Dangazele
- A traditional guardian says thugs spit on the food or urinate on it if they do not like it.
- Nine initiates have died across the province this summer season from dehydration, lightning strikes and even severe beatings.
Criminals are turning a sacred tradition into a nightmare in Kariega.
Young men at an initiation school say they are living in fear as strangers lurk outside their huts at night. One initiate pleaded for help on Facebook, saying unknown men were trying to enter their huts.
But the thugs are not just scaring the initiates. They are targeting the children who bring them food.
A nine-year-old boy was allegedly held at gunpoint while delivering a meal in KwaLanga.
Zamuxolo Daweti, a traditional guardian, says he now patrols the camp at night to keep everyone safe.
He says criminals wait for the children who take shortcuts behind informal houses.
“We have asked the children to use the main road so that we can see them,” Daweti said.
When the criminals catch the food carriers, the results are humiliating. Daweti says if the suspects do not like the food, they spit or urinate on it.
This leaves the initiates hungry and traumatised.
The crisis comes as provincial leaders meet to discuss safety. Nine initiates have already died in the Eastern Cape since the summer season started on 14 November.
Causes range from dehydration and lightning strikes to beatings, though none of these deaths happened in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge says they received a complaint about a man trying to rob boys of phones. However, officers could not confirm the incident during their investigation.
Pictured above: Initiates walking through a field.
Image source: Facebook
