Lekwa, Govan Mbeki municipal area face abduction, forced initiation problem
Mxolisi Mngomezulu, the Nathi Development Foundation manager, said the problem is worsening, with young girls now also victims.
Initiation schools were a key topic during a recent meeting between the eMbalenhle SAPS commander, Colonel Khuselwa Matrose, and community members.
Mxolisi Mngomezulu, the Nathi Development Foundation manager, raised concerns about children being abducted and taken to initiation schools without parental consent. He said the problem is worsening, with young girls now also victims.
“Our foundation has received several reports of children taken to initiation schools against their will. This is a serious challenge for our community in eMbalenhle,” said Mngomezulu.
“What is more concerning is that when these boys return from the initiation schools, they often become involved in gangs and crime, terrorizing the community. We suspect some of these schools are used to train criminals. As winter approaches, we urge the police to be ready to help.”
Mngomezulu spoke about young girls falling victim to these abductions.
“Last year alone, several young girls from eMbalenhle went missing and were later found in different initiation schools in the Dipaleseng Municipality. We tracked them down with the help of a private security company.”
He recounted a personal story of a friend abducted and forcibly taken to an initiation school.
“My friend, a Zulu man who does not follow this cultural practice, was kidnapped while praying alone in the veld near the Bracken Mine last June. A group of men took him by force, and he was initiated against his will. He later escaped and fled to his home in KwaZulu-Natal.”
According to Mngomezulu, after returning home, his friend behaved strangely, prompting his parents to seek help from a traditional healer.
“He revealed that he was fed muti daily and given little food at the initiation school. When his parents came to check his home in eMbalenhle’s Mandela section, they found his shack riddled with bullet holes. He never returned because of the trauma he experienced.”
Matrose confirmed that children were abducted for initiation schools in eMbalenhle last December.
“The police arrested a suspect who allegedly kidnapped children and took them to Greylingstad. He was also linked to other cases of child abduction,” said Matrose.
“We deployed police vans to retrieve the children from these initiation schools, and we continue to assist the community in such cases.”
In Standerton’s Sakhile township, a community group called Team Ngenelela actively fights crime, including the abduction of children.
Last December, working with the police, the team rescued several children from Sakhile who were taken to initiation schools in Balfour without their parents’ consent.
“Some parents were forced to pay R2 000 to get their children back,” the team reported.
Team Ngenelela vowed to continue fighting this criminal activity until all the perpetrators face justice.
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