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Picture Courtesy: (SABC NEWS)Contralesa has strongly cautioned initiation schools not to kidnap young males during this season of initiation.
(The Post News)- The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa) has issued a stern plea to the public, urging vigilance and cooperation to ensure young males are not abducted and are safely enrolled in authorised initiation schools.
It is alleged that there are initiation schools that pay other young boys to kidnap initiates, and Contralesa president, Chief Lameck Mokoena, said that the act of forcefully taking young boys to initiation schools is foreign to them and is horrible.
The principals of traditional schools who are participants in this act must stop it.
Chief Mokoena pleaded with the public to remain vigilant and inform Contralesa if they suspect or know of anyone involved in kidnappings. He promised that Contralesa would take serious legal action against anyone involved in taking young boys to initiation schools against their will.
According to Chief Mokoena, Contralesa is entirely against the act of initiating young boys unwillingly instead, the young boys must be initiated willingly and with the permission of their parents.
Mokoena proposed that traditional leaders work together to put an end to these kidnappings and said that they have joined forces with law enforcement.
Contralesa will take extremely strong action when it discovers that young boys have been taken to initiation schools against their will.
In addition, Chief Mokoena emphasised that Contralesa is going to be good friends with the legal system to make sure the guilty get exceptionally severe punishment. He said that the young boys are initiated into this noble tradition, which is not a money-making machine, while they follow all the rituals.
He pleaded with parents to ensure that their young boys attend authorized initiation schools.
According to him, parents should first check whether the principal of the initiation school has a permit and has been medically cleared by a doctor to carry out the rituals. He urged parents not to leave their children at an initiation school that lacks the necessary documentation.
Speaking about the inclusive Government of National Unity (GNU), Chief Mokoena highlighted that Contralesa has major concerns about the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance working together because of clear policy differences.
He claims that the DA opposes traditional leadership in all forms, and the ANC has erred greatly by including the DA in the GNU. The DA has also opposed the Traditional Court Act and numerous other traditional leadership-related laws.
Meanwhile, two young boys initiated at illegal initiation schools in Ngqeleni and Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape’s OR Tambo region have died. Contralesa confirmed the deaths of both boys on Sunday, June 17.
Zolani Mkiva, the secretary of Contralesa, stated that a traditional doctor and two caregivers were apprehended in connection with the death of the Port St. Johns initiate, while no arrests have been made for the death of the Ngqeleni initiate.
According to Mkiva, Contralesa is only made aware of an initiate’s grave condition when he is brought forward from an unauthorized initiation school.
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