WHEN their son Kelebogile left home, the Legasa family had no idea he would come back dead.
The 18-year-old's mum Lorraine from Lakeside in Evaton, Vaal said he went missing on 19 November 2021.
She said they later found out he was allegedly abducted and taken to an initiation school in the Vaal, where he mysteriously died.
She now wants answers and has turned to the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) for help.
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She was speaking on Monday, 24 April, during the three-day National Initiation Indaba held at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni. It started on Monday, 24 April and will end on Wednesday, 26 April.
"Our son was taken to the initiation school without our consent and the perpetrator is roaming the street. I feel bad about what happened to our son because he was supposed to start his first year as a law student in 2022," he said.
Kelebogile’s dad Samson said they reported the matter at four different cops shops but were allegedly told that at his age, their son had the right to decide to go to initiation school.
He said his body was found 15 days after he went missing and a case was opened.
"The officer who opened the case was rude to us and nothing has happened. We hope the CRL Rights Commission will help us with the case and in finding closure," he said.
According to the CRL commission, 700 initiates have died since 2006. It said the conference aimed to address the high rate of the deaths and injuries at initiation schools.
The inkosi of the AmaMpondo nation, Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, said the indada was a historic event, which he hoped would help end these deaths.
"The government of South Africa must provide powers and functions as well as to fund the programmes of traditional institution," said Nonkonyana.
The deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, said initiation rituals aimed to instill good morals and social values.
He said due to socio-cultural shifts, the practice has changed and this has culminated in instances of criminal activity, drug abuse, risky sexual behaviours and inhumane behaviours among some of the initiates.
"The intervention by government should be that of a co-operate governance approach that all spheres of government working in collaboration to achieve our goal of 'zero initiation deaths' is achieved," he said.
Major-General Maropeni Mamotheti, who was speaking at the indaba, said after hearing the agony of the Legasa family, they intervened.
She said the family reported the matter at four different police stations and it would now be handled by the SAPS provincial office.
"A team of detectives has been assigned to handle the case and they were talking to the Legasa family," she said.
