mpumalanga circumcision

MTHATHA, SOUTH AFRICA – DECEMBER 2015: Initiates seen at a circumcision school in Mthatha, South Africa. The government has deployed nine doctors alongside 150 others including nurses and traditional healers to monitor initiation schools during the circumcision period. (Photo by Gallo Images / City Press / Denvor de Wee)

Two Mpumalanga teenagers die after circumcision

Two teenagers have died in separate incidents related to circumcision in Verena and Laersdrift in Mpumalanga.

mpumalanga circumcision

MTHATHA, SOUTH AFRICA – DECEMBER 2015: Initiates seen at a circumcision school in Mthatha, South Africa. The government has deployed nine doctors alongside 150 others including nurses and traditional healers to monitor initiation schools during the circumcision period. (Photo by Gallo Images / City Press / Denvor de Wee)

Two young men have died in two separate incidents related to circumcision on Friday, 29 April in Mpumalanga. 

The two died at Verena and Laersdrift respectively. 

According to police, on Friday at  03:30 Thomas Ntuli, aged 19 was taken to a local clinic by his family. 

Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli said this was after reports that he had some complications at the initiation school that he was in subsequent to circumcision procedure performed on him. 

Mdhluli also said that whilst the medical staff at the clinic was busy attending to him, he unfortunately passed on.

“Police at Verena were alerted about the incident and a case of culpable homicide was opened for investigation,” Mdhluli said 

A similar incident occurred at Laersdrift on the same Friday around 09h00am whereby Sibusiso Masombuka, aged 18 passed away. 

According to reports, he developed some complications after he too went for circumcision at another initiation school a day prior to his demise.

“It is further reported that on the sad day at about 06:30 Masombuka complained about being dizzy. He was then removed from the other fellows so that he could get some space to breathe. 

“His condition is said to have deteriorated whereby his parents were notified and the medical personnel were summoned to the scene where he was sadly certified dead. The police were also informed where upon their arrival, an inquest case was opened for investigation.”

Donald Mdhluli

Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has sent her sincere condolences to the families of the deceased. 

Manamela further made a clarion call for the investigation team to be given a space to probe both incidents.

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