As an organisation committed to addressing the plight of men and boys, we would betray that course if we were to continue to fold arms and let this serial killing of children persist.

Our hearts are bleeding, just like those of the families who lost 17 precious lives of innocent boys in the Eastern Cape this winter. This is inexcusable.

What’s worse, these children die unnecessarily from preventable causes. For instance, we are told that the first three of these boys, two cousins and their best friend, burned to death in their initiation hut in Mdantsane, Buffalo City, on June 20.

Many boys  die this way every year and all of as a society become accomplices to murder by doing nothing.

In most instances, the young lads die because of dehydration due to being deprived of water by their caregivers or traditional nurses (amakhankatha/izingcibi). This is due to the misconception that those who drink water take longer to heal from their wounds.

All of us as the society must take a stand as matter of urgency. The deaths of so many children in one session call upon all of us to act. This matter cannot be left to the so-called authorities alone.

We are all involved as the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission), has pointed out in one of its reports;

“Solving the problems of initiation schools requires something more than just legislation. It must be remembered that, because of the principle of sacredness and secrecy of this practice, it is a difficult undertaking to monitor and evaluate the negative practices in schools. Because the matter ultimately rests with communities, the government, communities and traditional leadership should form a partnership in enforcing the requirements for opening initiation schools.”

By the way, this report is  more than two decades old and it was crisis then, yet, here we are in 2023 lamenting the same thing. Clearly someone is not doing their part. It may well be that, that someone is us, men.

Let every South African man join us and take a stand, this is enough now. We have endured this and other social ills for far too long, its time this stopped.

For this reason, the South African Mans Forum urges all men in our country to actively play a role in  putting an end to this malice. But let us offer the basic sustainable solution – unity. Let us unite by joining our local man’s forums, taking part in providing care and leadership to our children and families.

Let us all rally behind the Man’s Forum by supporting the following demands:

• That names of all the boys who died in this session be published;
• those who are accountable for this tragedy be brought to book; and
• that Department of Justice, WCYD, SAPS and COGTA remove the secrecy around this matter and provide the nation with statistics.

Our children cannot continue to die like this with us sitting as spectators.

Let this be the last time!

Remember the chilling warning of Oliver Reginald Tambo, to our nation about the results of shoddy treatment of our children when he says; “a country, a nation, a government or parent who does not value, protect and invest in its children does not deserve its future “.