Committee appeals for national commitment to prevent initiation deaths

By Alicia Mmashakana

The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has called for a coordinated, cross-departmental and national response to end the deaths and mutilations that are frequently linked with customary initiation practices.

“Initiation should not be a death sentence. When we speak of zero deaths and zero mutilations, we speak of the sanctity of life. We owe it to every child, every family and every community to make that promise real,” committee chairperson Zweli Mkhize said.

The department presented the committee its updated objectives in its 2025–2030 strategic plan, which now outlines explicit five-year goals, including the eradication of all illegal customary initiation schools. There are currently 429 schools.

It also wants to zero amputations in legal initiation schools. There were 15 in 2024. It is aiming for zero deaths from legal initiation practices. There were 63 last year.

Mkhize said that the zero targets were not