• A disabled 18-year-old initiate was allegedly raped at an Eastern Cape initiation school while the nurse was away.

• The mother spends R200 per day travelling to court as the case keeps getting delayed.

A heartbroken Eastern Cape mother is fighting for justice after her disabled son was allegedly raped at an initiation school in Centane.

The attack happened on 23 December when Siyabonga Lokoza, 39, visited the school. Men often visit initiates to check on their healing, but this time things allegedly went wrong.

The 18-year-old initiate told his traditional nurse about the rape. The family then called the police and social workers.

“He was not coping after the incident and needed social workers, so we had to remove him early from the initiation school. On the 25th we had his homecoming celebration, because he wouldn’t be able to attend his counselling sessions while he was there,” the victim’s mother told Scrolla.Africa.

She said her son was deeply traumatised. “He was angry, throwing things and even kicking the animals at home but the counselling sessions have helped him calm down a bit. However, we still want justice for him. The man who did this to my son must be punished.”

Local leader Mvuseli Tonisi said nothing like this had ever happened in their town before.

“Men who have undergone this rite of passage are supposed to guide the initiates through the process and carve out upstanding men in society,” he said.

The case was postponed again on Tuesday to 14 January because Lokoza’s lawyer needed more time to study the case.

The mother is upset about the delays.

“I spend at least R200 per day coming to court; it is costly for me. What hurts me is that justice for my son is being delayed, but I will find a way to come to court again next week,” she said.

Pictured above: Traditional initiates.

Source: X