Government launches 2026 Winter Initiation Season with safety campaign aimed at preventing deaths and injuries among initiates.
Image: Cindy Waxa/Independent Newspapers Archives
The government has outlined stricter measures to prevent deaths and injuries during the 2026 winter initiation season, with Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa emphasising parental responsibility and tighter enforcement of registration rules.
Hlabisa said the government aims to curb fatalities and amputations by ensuring all schools, traditional surgeons and nurses are properly registered before the season begins.
"If you want different results, you do things differently from the previous time," Hlabisa said, speaking to broadcaster ENCA. He added that the 2026 season must be a turning point for safety, particularly in provinces that have historically been hotspots.
Hlabisa said most of the 669 initiation-related deaths reported over the past decade occurred in the Eastern Cape and Free State.
All initiation schools will be required to register in March, with traditional surgeons and nurses also formally registered. In April, initiates must undergo a screening process and submit parental consent forms, while May will mark final registration and inspection of facilities. Schools must demonstrate that they have sufficient water and resources, Hlabisa said.
A major cause of deaths during initiation, he added, is dehydration. "There is a wrong belief that you must not drink water at least a month before going to initiation. This kills our children," he said.
On enforcement, Hlabisa promised stricter consequences for illegal schools and negligent practices. "We will establish specialised localised courts in hotspots, including the Eastern Cape and Free State, to ensure that arrests and prosecutions are swift. There will be no opportunity to appeal once an illegal school is identified," he said.
The minister stressed that the ultimate responsibility lies with parents. "It is the parent who decides which school their child attends, which surgeon will conduct the initiation and who the nurse will be. Negligent parents will be arrested, especially if they falsify age or ignore safety protocols," he said.
Hlabisa said parents must verify the reputation of initiation schools, ensuring they do not repeatedly expose children to life-threatening risks. "A responsible parent cannot take a child to a school where every season multiple children die," he said.