THE winter initiation season has taken off without any incidents in Umasizakhe, despite the escalating deaths of initiates in the Eastern Cape with the official number reaching 17 in the province.
The Midlands Karoo region has not had any instances of botched and illegal circumcisions dating as far back as 1999, where one death occurred.
The age-old tradition is entrenched in our societies and has been marred by soaring numbers of initiates deaths, penile amputations and under-age circumcisions.
According to a representative of the House of Traditional leaders in the Midlands, Reverend Mfundo Mbune, “we have not experienced any such incidents in our area over the years, this we can attribute to the working relationships with all stakeholders involved”.
Botched circumcisions have overshadowed this tradition with allegations of bogus organisations kidnapping young boys and taking them to illegal initiation schools.
This has led to health authorities setting up provincial task teams and coordinating committees to oversee this rite of passage.
The director of a non-governmental organisation in the Eastern Cape, Nkululeko Nxesi, has applauded this area as exemplary as it always records zero incidents.
“These incidents are a result of multiple factors including lack of government intervention, awareness and peer pressure,” he said.