The body of an initiate buried in a secret mountain grave could be exhumed in a criminal probe into the cause of his death, the North West provincial government announced on Thursday.
Justice Naane’s father, Kereng, insisted that his family needed to bury him to have closure, said government spokesperson Cornelius Monama.
He said Naane, from the village of Gopane, near Zeerust, was abducted and forced to go to the initiation school by members of the community a few months ago.
When he did not return, his family asked the Office of the Premier to intervene.
In a probe by House of Traditional Leaders chairperson Kgosi Moshe Mabe, it emerged that Naane had died and been buried in the mountains — in line with Batswana culture.
The local chief Kgosi Jangjo Gopane had told him the matter had already been referred to the police, who knew the people involved. They were from his village.
Monama said the police investigation could lead to the exhumation of Naane to establish the cause of death.
He said the provincial government was also looking into reports that two more initiates from the same school were seriously ill.
The Office of the Premier will not interfere, but assist when the need arose.
There have been at least 19 deaths at initiation schools in the Eastern Cape and two in North West since the start of the winter circumcision season.
Hearings into the deaths are to be held in September by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural and Linguistic Communities, the South African Human Rights Commission and the National House of Traditional Leaders.
They will also review the existing legislation on initiation schools. — Sapa