29-05-2025
Mom sounds alert after son abducted to initiation school
A Cloverdene mother is urging parents to be vigilant this initiation season after her 16-year-old son was abducted and taken to an illegal initiation school without her knowledge or consent.
The initiation process is an African cultural practice that marks the transition of young men into adulthood.
The single mother, who will remain anonymous to protect her child's identity, said her son told her he was attending a friend's birthday party on April 26, but he never returned home that night.
The desperate mother said that on April 27, she began asking neighbours about his whereabouts.
'Eventually, someone told me he had been taken to a mountain school. Initial information suggested it was to KwaNdebele, Mpumalanga, but I later discovered he was being held in Mabopane, Pretoria.'
She said she later learnt that another boy who recruits children into these schools lured her son.
'I was told that once children are taken to these illegal initiation schools, parents are expected to pay between R1 500 and R4 000 for their children to be circumcised and released.'
The mother said she contacted the police, who told her that only if she could confirm her son's exact location could she open a missing person's case. Once she received solid information, she was advised not to go directly to the school but to report to the Mabopane Police Station.
Not knowing where she was going, she took a taxi alone and arrived at the station on April 30 at about 20:30.
'I told the police about my child and my neighbour's missing child, as well. Officers took down the boys' details and went to the area where they were being held. They came back in the early hours of the morning. I was told that at 04:00, they were going to be initiated.
'I'm thankful I acted quickly. As a single mother, I wouldn't have had the money to get him out. Our culture is Zulu, so this is not even our tradition.'
The mom said that with no funds to return home, she and the boys had to sleep at the police station until someone sent her money.
Although her son was physically unharmed, she says the experience has left him emotionally shaken.
'He is now always anxious, jumpy and scared. He definitely needs counselling,' she said.
'My advice to parents is that they must watch their children and speak to them so they can tell you whatever is bothering them, especially if they are being bullied into going to these illegal initiation schools,' said the mother.
Crystal Park SAPS warns learners
To curb the abduction of boys into illegal initiation schools, the Crystal Park SAPS recently held an awareness talk at Chief Albert Luthuli Secondary School.
Crystal Park SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Lerato Mopeli told the male learners not to feel pressured or question their manhood if they did not attend an initiation school.
She urged them to walk in groups after or before school, warning of a reported Quantum minibus abducting children.
Mopeli said they chose the school after reports surfaced of a learner allegedly recruiting and bullying others into attending illegal schools. She urged the learners to report bullying and discrimination to their teachers or the police.
SAPS rescues 25 initiates
A joint operation involving the SAPS, the Departments of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Social Development in Tshwane on May 15 saw 11 girls and 14 boys rescued from an illegal initiation school.
The children were from Daveyton, Etwatwa and Putfontein.
Also Read: Four missing Daveyton boys found at initiation school in Mpumalanga
Also Read: 'Initiation practices have no place in our school'
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