 A group of young South African men taking part in coming of age rituals due to include circumcision turned on their male nurse and killed him, an official said on Monday. Sizwe Kupelo of the Eastern Cape provincial health department said the men aged 18 to 25 beat the man to death with sticks at the site of their initiation ceremonies in Port Elizabeth on Friday. "He was attacked by about 20 initiates who assaulted him, and he later died," Kupelo said. He said the attack followed complaints by the men that they were not being properly looked after during their initiation ceremonies, but did not elaborate. A number of South African clans including the Ndebele, Sotho and Xhosa send teenage boys and young men into the bush for up to eight weeks to learn their clan's cultural and moral values and undergo coming of age ceremonies, including circumcision. | Running around in the bush, beating drums, telling tales of the good old days. Everything was going along fine, until the nurse explained what the phrase "circumcision" means.. |
In recent years, the practice of circumcision has come under scrutiny as dozens of boys have been accidentally killed or mutilated by amateur elders who have seized on the tradition as a way to make money. | "Come here Sonny, it'll only hurt a minute!" |
Kupelo said in the Eastern Cape at least 10 young men had died during the current initiation period, which began in December. | Some "amateur elder" comes after me with a rusty knife, I'd beat him to death myself |
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