Ten rescued from bogus initiation school in Dennilton

Dennilton

Seven young boys and three girls have been rescued from illegal initiation school in Dennilton Village outside Groblersdal last week Friday.

The children, between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are believed to be abducted during a mass kidnapping for initiation purposes from their homes in Daveyton and Etwatwa area, about 150 kms away.

They were rescued during a multidisciplinary operation conducted by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), with other law enforcement agencies.

Cogta Chief Director of Intergovernmental Relations, Kiba Kekana, said the children were found at the initiation school in the mountains.

According to Lebo Bogopane, initiation monitoring leader in Gauteng Cogta said six children were reported missing, however, when the team arrive at the initiation school in Dennilton, they discovered another four children from Etwatwa and Daveyton who were also rescued.

“The girls were found at the residence of the initiation school owners and the seven boys were rescued from the mountains,” he said.

Bogopane said one of the boys is an asthmatic patient and he was in a very bad condition when they arrived as he was not in possession of his asthma spray.

“Our main concern is that the owners of the initiation school knew nothing about recently imposed Initiation Customary Act and they did not demand consent forms from the initiates when coming to the school,” he said.

Bogopane said the legal status of the Dennilton initiation school is being investigated by the Cogta Department in Limpopo. He said Gogta is in a mission to close down any illegal initiation school.

It is alleged that eight other children, who are locals, were rescued from the same initiation school last week Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the Chairperson of the National Initiation Oversight Committee (NIOC), King Vimbi Mahlangu, said people who kidnap boys and take them to initiation school will be charged and face the law.

Mahlangu urged parents to immediately inform the police when find out that their children were taken to the initiation schools without their consent.

Meanwhile, Coghsta in Limpopo has on Monday closed an initiation school in the Mopani District, following the death of a six-year-old initiate.

Coghsta confirmed that the minor was admitted to the school on 21 June with a consent of his parents.

According to Coghsta Spokesperson, Hitekani Magwedze, both the parents of the boy and initiation school owners contravened Section 12 (1) of the Limpopo Initiation School Act of 2016, which forbids children under the age of 12 to be admitted to initiation schools.

The department said the exact cause of death is not yet known and the police are investigating the incident.