Makhaya Komisa (COGTA)
A Chapter 9 institution has called for the establishment of specialised courts to deal with initiation-related crimes.
The call was made by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities on Thursday, after announcing that the number of initiates who died in the Eastern Cape during the current summer season, rose to 34 so far.
Commission Chairperson, Professor David Mosoma, briefed the media following a meeting with the Eastern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Xolile Nqatha, and community leaders this week.
He said "this was fast becoming an epidemic" saying 696 deaths were reported in the province in the past decade.
"As a result, the commission calls on the South African Police Services to fast track the processing of already reported cases to bring those responsible to book and that successful prosecution be publicised to serve as a deterrent," he said.
Mosoma said the majority of cases occurred in illegal schools and called for their immediate closure.
"The Provincial leadership should ensure the rescue centres are erected to allow the initiates from illegal schools to finish their course."
"The State Security Agency must be deployed to track and identify illegal schools in far-flung bush areas including homes to give early warning signs about the impending deaths that may occur and that an illegal act has been committed," added Mosoma.
The CRL Commission also urged traditional leaders to be hands-on to avert the deaths and ensure partakers return home unharmed.
