It’s all systems go for the summer initiation season in the Eastern Cape, which officially began this past Thursday. Thousands of boys are expected to flock to traditional initiation schools, following intense lobbying by the Eastern Cape government and traditional leaders for the rituals to take place in the province. This was after the practice was suspended early this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, even before Thursday, at least five initiates (abakhwetha) had already died in the province’s OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo districts due to botched circumcisions. The five included the first initiate to die this year in Gxulu, in the Nyandeni Local Municipality, under the OR Tambo district, last month.