S. Africa: Botched Circumcisions Claim 60 Lives in the Eastern Cape

Article here. Excerpt:

'Circumcision season usually starts from May and continues until around the end of the mid-year school holidays in July depending on the area. This is a difficult time for the young boys who go to initiation schools hoping to come out as men. It’s a particularly challenging time for hospitals in the Eastern Cape where the old ritual of circumcision is vigilantly observed. Most of the participants in initiation ceremonies in the Eastern Cape are Xhosa males.

With the Xhosa people of South Africa, circumcision is part of a series of rituals that are performed to facilitate the transition from childhood to manhood. This is a deeply personal and meaningful process that former President Nelson Mandela also took part in. For generations, boys have looked forward to initiation rituals and returning back to their families as healthy and wiser men. However, things do not turn out this way for many young boys in the Eastern Cape and other areas where the tradition is still practiced.

Botched circumcisions often result in permanently damaged private organs and sometimes, even death. Since May, no less than 60 boys and men have died in the Eastern Cape. Half of those passed away after attending initiation schools in the last six weeks. The Holy Cross Hospital is the closest hospital to a few of the initiation schools in the Eastern Cape. According to media reports, the hospital has a high admission rate for injured initiates.'