Africa-Press – South-Africa. North West police have rescued 40 initiates who were kidnapped and illegally taken to an initiation school.
By the time police reached them, they had already been circumcised.
The initiates, aged between 15 and 20, were reported missing, but the kidnappers called their parents demanding money for their return.
North West police spokesperson Captain Amanda Funani said they had since arrested three suspects aged 24, 26 and 30, and charged them with kidnapping and contravening the Customary Initiation Act.
She parents reported their children missing at the Mahikeng and Lehurutshe police stations.
“Investigations led the police to an illegal initiation school between Ramatlabama and Tsetse villages outside Mahikeng.
“Preliminary investigations suggest that the three suspects mobilised unsuspecting young boys from villages around Mahikeng and Lehurutshe to join the initiation schools.
“After recruiting these young boys, they would call the parents and demand money [to ensure] the safety of the victims.
“Consequently, about 40 initiates between the ages of 15 and 20 were rescued. The illegal schools were closed while the boys were taken to a local hospital where they were treated,” Funani said.
One of the suspects, 24-year-old Bongani Moatlhodi, appeared at the Lehurutshe Magistrate’s Court on Friday in connection with the kidnapping of a 16-year-old boy.
The other two suspects are expected to appear in the Molopo Magistrate’s Court in Mmabatho on 3 July.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Sello Kwena lauded the police for “acting swiftly to rescue the boys and arrest the suspects”.
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