By AGISANG SCUFF
7 July 2025- The Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee (PICC) has rescued a group 25 people who have been missing for two weeks. The kids were found at an illegal initiation school near Lonely Park village in Mahikeng.
The rescue comes after an intensified night search by PICC members and some initiation school principals, following a tip-off by residents in the village. Initially the number of initiates was eleven and overtime the number increased to 25. The boys were lured into attending the illegal initiation school at Tsetse village, outside Mahikeng and parents started looking for their kids.
The North West Cooperative Governance, Human Settlementand TraditionalAffairs (COGHSTA)’s Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee representative, Andries Stemmer said bogus principal has been changing locations in the bush for the past two weeks to avoid arrest. Stemmer said the main culprit and few others who have been in charge of this illegal initiation school, are on the run and they appeal to them to hand themselves over to the police.
“This rescue brings a total number of initiates who have been rescued, since the beginning on the winter initiation season to 115. The extensive monitoring operation to ensure compliance with Customary Initiation Act of 2021, will continue until the last day of the winter initiation season which is 18 July 2025,” he said.
The Guardian 