South Africa's traditional circumcision claims dozens of young lives

At least 48 boys and young men died during recent initiation ceremonies in South Africa, among them 22-year-old Lamkelo Mtyho, who had no known health issues when he entered a registered school—but never returned.

Mtyho joined his peers wrapped in blankets and smeared in clay, the traditional rite meant to mark his passage into manhood.

Weeks later, his grandmother learned he had collapsed on the way to bathe.

"Initiation is not an easy thing," Nozinzile said, "but the thought of him dying never crossed my mind."

Deadly risks

Poorly trained practitioners, unsanitary tools, dehydration, and septic wounds claim lives each season, often in remote settings where help is far away.

Former health minister Zwelini Mkhize told parliament 476 young people died over a five-year period—"deaths that are unacceptable."

Culture vs. safety While traditional leader Morena Mpembe defends initiation as "a culture left to us by our elders," illegal schools thrive where registered ones are unaffordable.

In one municipality, lawmakers found more illegal than legal schools.

Recent arrests included 16 traditional surgeons and parents accused of falsifying boys' ages.

A mother of two initiates called for government oversight, saying, "Young people are losing their lives."