30 boys die from circumcision related injuries in South Africa
Boys from the Xhosa tribe who have undergone a circumcision ceremony in Qunu, South Africa's Eastern Cape province. Botched circumcisions killed 30 young men and landed almost 300 more in hospital during traditional initiation rites in a South African province, the health department said on July 7, 2013. The 30 deaths in rural Eastern Cape province occurred during the annual season when young males undergo a rite of passage into manhood. Photo/AFP
Thirty boys have died from circumcision-related injuries in the Eastern Cape Province alone during the initiation season, authorities said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, nearly 300 have been hospitalised in the province, suffering from dehydration, gangrene, and septic wounds, the provincial health department said.
Some have lost their genitals due to botched circumcisions, according to the department. The number of deaths during this year's initiation season was unusually high.
The latest deaths came after almost 40 boys died earlier during what was reported as initiation and circumcision rituals across the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces.
According to local custom, the initiations are normally viewed as a traditional passage for a young boy to enter manhood.
However, the ancient initiations this year have became the fatal platform for those boys. The rising death toll has alarmed the government.
President Jacob Zuma has called for a swift legal action to deal with the issue.
"We wish to urge them to ensure swift justice for the families and that those responsible for the deaths are brought to book without delay," he said.
Police have opened murder dockets for many of the deaths.
