Cape Town – twenty-four illegal initiation schools have been shut down in the Eastern Cape.
The premier had suspended the winter traditional initiation season due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown.
Eastern Cape Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson Mamnkeli Ngam said that they had discovered illegal initiation schools in several years.
“In the OR Thambo District Municipality area, in a municipality called Nyandeni. It has become a hotspot in terms of illegal operation,” said Ngam.
He said that traditional initiation monitoring teams were working with police to uncover more illegal operators.
So far, 10 people have been arrested for unlawful circumcision and the contravention of the lockdown regulations while 16 cases are under investigation.
The chairperson of the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders has called on communities to be vigilant and report illegal initiation schools.
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