Every summer, the Ulwaluko rite takes place across parts of the country. It’s a long-standing tradition meant to mark a boy’s passage into adulthood. But this year, the 2025 season has once again ended in tragedy, with at least 39 boys reported dead and many others suffering severe injuries and mutilations.
Though the ritual is intended to symbolize an important cultural milestone, it has faced mounting criticism over its shocking death toll and the unsafe health practices often involved in carrying it out.
Critics say these schools put lives at serious risk by hiring people with no medical training, who sometimes perform unsafe circumcisions. They’re also accused of ignoring proper hygiene and medical standards, which leads to a high number of botched procedures.
In 2023, ActionSA party member and Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Athol Trollip spoke out strongly against the illegal schools and their role in this ongoing crisis.
Trollip added: “ActionSA urges the government of the Eastern Cape to do everything that is required to stop the unnecessary loss of lives during initiation season. The government must reconsider how initiation schools are registered and supervised.”
These traditional rituals have been carried out in secret for generations. They usually take place in isolated huts built far from the villages, where only tribal elders and the young boys participating in the ceremony are allowed inside.
He said: “All initiation schools are accountable and any school that contravenes the law and endangers lives then the law is unequivocal and they will be closed down at once.”
“We cannot accept any more deaths and owe it to these young men and their families to ensure their journey into adulthood is safe, dignified and respected, and of course safe.”
Over the past five years alone, the total number of boys who have died from these ceremonies has climbed to 361.
While participation is technically a personal choice, many boys feel enormous pressure to take part. Refusing the ritual can result in social exclusion or even threats of violence.
To reduce the risks, the government has committed to shutting down illegal schools and says it plans to cut their number in half — from 429 currently to a much smaller figure by the year 2029.
