As thesummer initiation seasoncontinues, the journey to manhood for some in Kariega has allegedly been disrupted by opportunistic and callous thieves, and the community is saying enough is enough. Criminals have been terrorising children taking food to the initiates in KwaLanga, with a nine-year-old among those allegedly held at gunpoint on the way there in one of the harrowing ordeals. The issue has drawn the attention of government, religious leaders, police and community members who gathered in Kariega on Monday to visit the KwaLanga and KwaNobuhle camps.
The provincial initiation coordinating committee (Picc), which was also in the Bay to address growing concern about initiate safety across the province, confirmed tsince the start of the summer initiation season on November 14, nine initiates had died. The reasons for the deaths vary from suicide and dehydration to one being struck by lightning and another being beaten to death, allegedly by aniKhankatatraditional initiation guardian. None of the deaths occurred in the Nelson Mandela Bay region.
“[The suspects] do not know our culture, they do not know how to respect our rituals, so they are not aware of the repercussions of what they are doing There have also been 24 arrests across the province during the season in relation to the incidents. A multidisciplinary committee that consisted of the Uitenhage and District Taxi Association (UDTA), Christian pastors, police, parents of initiates, community members, health representatives, initiation task teams and activists visited the KwaNobuhle and KwaLanga initiation schools on Monday. At the KwaLanga location, the mother of a nine-year-old spoke about how her son and a group of other youngsters were allegedly held at gunpoint while delivering food earlier in December.
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The child’s uncle began his initiation journey on November 29 and is expected to return home on December 24. The mother said the boy was allegedly approached by a man who pointed a gun at the group, demanding they hand over money, power banks and phones. “[Another child] said they did not have any phones and only had what they were carrying when he saw the man was coming closer.
The other child took my child and placed him behind him. He spoke in Afrikaans to say they did not have money so the man left. The man then met another child. He wanted the same things — money, power banks, cellphones, and put the gun against the child’s stomach,” she said.
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