NW police hunting suspects behind bogus initiation school that abducted 25 boys
The boys had been missing for two weeks before police, acting on a tip-off from residents in a Mahikeng village, rescued them.
A picture taken on 20 November 2009 of young boys from the Xhosa tribe attending a traditional initiation school in Libode, Eastern Cape. Picture: AFP
JOHANNESBURG - Police in the North West are hunting for suspects, including the mastermind, behind a bogus initiation school that abducted 25 boys.
The boys had been missing for two weeks before police, acting on a tip-off from residents in a Mahikeng village, rescued them.
ALSO READ: 25 children rescued from bogus initiation school near Mahikeng village
Since the start of the winter initiation season, 115 boys have been rescued from illegal or unregistered schools.
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs spokesperson Thebeetsile Keamedište said the perpetrators have been moving around to evade arrest.
“The boys were lured into attending the illegal initiation school at Tsetse Village outside Mahikeng, and parents started looking for their kids. The bogus principal has been changing locations in the bush for the past two weeks to avoid arrest. The main culprit and a few others who have been in charge of this illegal initiation school are on the run, and we appeal to them to hand themselves over to the police.”