On the 14 January 2015, His Majesty the King iSilo officially welcomed more than 200 of amakrwala (young men that have been traditionally circumcised) at Shayamoya Sports-ground, in Kokstad, within the Harry Gwala District.
Ongangezwelakhe was accompanied by MEC for Social Development, Wezizwe Thusi, MEC for Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dlomo and MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
His Majesty the King has successfully revived the Ukusokwa custom (male circumcision) in the entire KwaZulu-Natal province and last year he launched the Ulwaluko Cultural Ceremony in the Harry Gwala District to put an end to the unnecessary death of young men from the initiation schools in this part of the province.
Silo samaBandla, during the welcoming ceremony, urged all government departments to continuously work jointly with traditional structures in communities that are responsible for overseeing the custom. His aim is to minimize the deaths that have occurred in provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.
Since the inception of this programme, to-date, more than 4 000 young men have been circumcised and not a single death has been registered.
The provincial government’s aim with this programme is ensuring that, by 2016, more than two and half million males have been circumcised in KwaZulu-Natal. It also seeks to encourage healthy lifestyle living by promoting clean living.
