The deputy chairperson of the House of Traditional Leaders in the Vhembe District, Thovhele Fhatuwani Mulima, announced that the traditional circumcision schools in the district would be open from 14 June to 13 July.

Speaking to Limpopo Mirror on Saturday afternoon (25 May), Mulima said that according to the Limpopo Initiation Schools Act, parents or guardians must sign a consent form and provide the initiation schools with a birth certificate and a medical report before any initiate can be admitted.

“According to the law, children should only be accepted at the schools if they are 12 years old and above. They should also present a caregiver (mudabe), who will be with them from the first day to the last day at the school,” he said.

When asked about children and some adults who go to the traditional schools on their own and gatecrash without the knowledge of the school owners, he said that for circumcision surgeons to circumcise initiates who did not have consent forms from either their parents or their guardians was against the law.

“Last year, we had a big headache about a school that accepted a child without the consent forms from his parents, and the parents went to the police station and opened a case. I am warning all circumcision-school owners to refrain from doing so, because they will be arrested,” he said.

Regarding the calls from many people to ban circumcision schools because of the loss of lives among initiates, especially in the Eastern Cape and some parts of Gauteng, he stated that circumcision schools were integral to the Vhavenda culture and traditions and would continue. “Let those who have chosen to do things according to Western culture do so without banning our own culture and tradition. We have lost a lot of our cultural history because of foreign influence in our society, but when it comes to traditional circumcision schools, we will never allow them to be banned. They are here to stay,” he said.