North West Premier Thandi Modise has called on provincial authorities to clamp down on initiation schools that operate outside the law. This follows the death of a 17-year-old at an initiation school at Majemantsho village in Mahikeng over the weekend.
“Chancers and those who commit atrocities at initiation schools undermine our tradition and culture and should be brought to book. We call on traditional leaders as custodians of our tradition and culture to monitor initiation schools within their areas of jurisdiction and report ill-treatment and illegal operations to authorities,” stressed Premier Modise.
According to police, two people aged 28 were arrested after preliminary investigations found he had been assaulted, all over his body and head, with a sjambok.
SAPS North West Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Lesego Metsi says that the deceased was found by another initiate lying dead outside their kraal and he called their principal. The teenager's family called the police after they were notified of his death on Saturday. The arrested suspects are expected to appear in the Mmabatho Magistrate's Court on Monday.
Earlier in the week on Wednesday 5 people were also arrested in connection with the death of 19-year-old initiate whose burnt body was found in a shallow grave at Doorenpan in the Ventersdorp District.
According to police, Lesego Cassias Goliath had joined an initiation school on June 12 and between then and the June 24, the deceased was brutally assaulted by the initiation school's principal and he subsequently died.
It is alleged that the principal and four boys burnt Goliath's body and buried it at a municipal dumping side. His remains were found by police with the help of sniffer dogs in a field not far from the initiation school. The principal, aged 32, and his four accomplices, aged between 17 and 21, were expected to appear in the Ventersdorp Magistrate's Court soon on murder charges.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Spokesperson
Cell: 083 629 1987
Tel: 018 388 3705
Fax: 018 388 3157
Email: LKgwele@gmail.com
