SEBOKENG – Tau Diarora, a Non-Profit Organization together with local police rescued over 11 boys from a bogus initiation school in Poortjie recently.
This comes after several complaints filed by disgruntled parents following abduction claims all over Sedibeng.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, Tau Diarora spokesman Muntu ‘Stone’ Kama said they have received a number of complaints hence their duty to clamp down on illegal initiation schools.
“Part of our mandate is to ensure that when it comes to traditional affairs, especially initiation everything is done accordingly. The government gazette has been recently amended and we making sure that it is followed properly. The gazette strictly states that only registered initiators should partake in initiating boys to men and that can only be done in December,” he said.
“We are inundated with calls from aggrieved parents on missing boys, that’s solely why we took a task in helping find these kidnapped young men who are taken to bogus initiation schools,” he said.
Kama said their tactical team had an extensive raid in locations known to be used as camps during initiation seasons.
“In ensuring that the government gazette is followed, we raided a number of locations such as Poortjie where we found eleven boys performing initiation procedures. This was not surprising to us, because where we found them, they were kept by one man who is known for vigorously initiating boys. Following the clampdown, we called the parents and police to help send them back home safely. We will continue expanding our raids to other areas,” he said.
“We are not saying people mustn’t follow cultural believes, but our plea is to make sure that people respect our age-old tradition. Our goal is to see young boys turned into me rightfully,” he said.
An aggrieved parent Kedibone Mbele, mother to Karabo Mbele said her missing son is suspected to be abducted.
“My son left last week saying his visiting a friend and he will later go visit his grandmother in Bophelong. Later in the day, we called the grandmother, she said Karabo haven’t arrived. We enquired with some of his friends, and they told us that he was preaching about going to an initiation school after completing his exam,” she said.
Mbele said Karabo was last seen with other young boys carrying backs.
“Bags in the community during this time of the month only speaks to initiation school, hence we suspect he went there. We have tried to find him, but no signs of my son. I am asking for assistance from whoever can help our family find my son,” she pleaded.
