At least 43 boys and young men have died during traditional circumcision ceremonies across South Africa, while dozens more have suffered severe injuries, including mutilation, during the country’s winter initiation season.
The fatalities were recorded in six provinces, with Mpumalanga accounting for 18 deaths and the Eastern Cape reporting 14. Four deaths were recorded in North West, three in Limpopo, and two each in Gauteng and the Free State.
South Africa’s Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs said 75 initiates had been admitted to hospital and 180 rescued from illegal initiation schools. Authorities also reported 12 abductions and the closure of 42 of the 58 unregistered schools identified during the season.
Police have opened 150 criminal cases and made 40 arrests, according to preliminary figures released by the department.
Velenkosini Hlabisa, the minister responsible for traditional affairs, said the death toll was “deeply concerning” and urged families to ensure that children attend only registered initiation schools. Parents were also told to check that traditional surgeons and nurses had the required authorisation.
The ceremonies form part of customary initiation rites intended to mark a transition into adulthood. But officials say illegal schools, inadequate hygiene, untrained practitioners and failures to provide proper medical care continue to place initiates at risk.
The CRL Rights Commission has launched a formal investigation into the deaths and serious injuries. It said the inquiry would examine criminality, negligence and failures to enforce South Africa’s Customary Initiation Act, rather than targeting the cultural practice itself.
The commission identified severe dehydration, untreated infections, septicaemia, exposure to harsh winter conditions and complications from botched circumcisions among the reported causes of death.
South African authorities have repeatedly called for safer, regulated initiation practices, with a stated aim of eliminating deaths, injuries, illegal schools and cases of amputation during future ceremonies.
