- The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport is stifling the air for illegal initiation schools in the province, with charges reportedly laid against four schools.
- The department announced that four traditional initiation schools in the Cape Metro faced charges of illegal operation.
- The schools are in Nyanga, Gugulethu, Philippi and Khayelitsha.
The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport is stifling the air for illegal initiation schools in the province, with charges reportedly laid against four schools.
On Thursday (16 November) the department announced that four traditional initiation schools in the Metro faced charges of illegal operation. The schools are in Nyanga, Gugulethu, Philippi and Khayelitsha.
Anroux Marais, the provincial minister, said: “The role of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, together with its partners, is to ensure that our young men return from this important rite of passage alive and healthy, while all the important and relevant cultural values are upheld and honoured”.
“We applaud the officials involved in closing these schools for their diligence. The Western Cape is a province of respect for the law. We care about our boys and young men. We will continue to enforce the law very firmly in the interests of our initiates. In our quest to have no deaths of Western Cape young men this initiation season, no illegal customary initiation schools will be allowed to operate,” concluded Marais.
Lingelethu-West Police Station spokesperson Sgt Xoliswa Nyalambisa confirmed a case of operating a school without being registered was opened. No arrest has yet been made, she added. “The initiation school is not yet officially closed and the number of initiates in the initiation school is unknown at this stage,” said Nyalambisa.
Philippi-East Police Station spokesperson Capt Genville Meyer could not confirm the case.