The Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) is stepping up efforts to ensure safe and dignified initiation practices through specialised training for Traditional Surgeons (Iingcibi) and Traditional Nurses (Amakhankatha) in the Alfred Nzo and O.R. Tambo Districts this week.

The training focuses on empowering practitioners with vital health, safety and legal knowledge ahead of the 2025 Summer Initiation Season.

The sessions highlight proper care, early detection of complications, and timely referral of initiates to health facilities, all aimed at reducing initiation-related fatalities.

Discussions reinforced the message that cultural preservation and safety must go hand in hand. Participants including traditional leaders emphasised that empowering Iingcibi and Amakhankatha strengthens cultural pride and protects the lives of initiates.

Representative from the National Prosecuting Authority Asanda Ngxafana unpacked the Customary Initiation Act No. 2 of 2021, detailing the roles of oversight and coordination structures that guide safe and lawful initiation practices. Medical practitioner and trainer, Dr. Mthembeni Tebelele, commended the sessions for bridging traditional and medical knowledge, ensuring that initiation remains both culturally rooted and health conscious.

Meanwhile today CoGTA is hosting an Imbizo for Men at Lusikisiki College in Ingquza Hill Local Municipality, to further strengthen dialogue around safe initiation practices and the preservation of cultural integrity.