By Sitha Maliwa:
In a move that has left the country reeling, former Limpopo Premier and current Deputy Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Stanley Chupu Mathabatha, has reportedly joined an initiation school at the age of 68 to “attain manhood.”
According to reports, Mathabatha is now one of nearly 500 initiates at the Mathabatha initiation school in Tjiane village, not far from his Tooseng homestead in Ga-Mphahlele, Capricorn District.
Insiders say he arrived on Friday under a heavy veil of secrecy, flanked by elders and an Induna, who will personally guide him through the sacred process. Unlike the hundreds of other young initiates, Mathabatha is reportedly housed in a private tent with all the comforts and necessities fit for a high-profile dignitary.
“He is not interacting with the other boys, who don’t even know he is there,” a source dramatically revealed. “A special tent has been erected with everything he needs.”
While the other initiates have been enduring the rigorous traditional program for more than a week, Mathabatha is said to have joined late, raising eyebrows across the community.
Many are stunned that a 68-year-old, with a long and powerful political career behind him, would still feel the need to undergo a rite of passage typically reserved for adolescent boys.
Whether this is a bold personal choice or a deeper cultural obligation, Mathabatha’s decision has certainly set tongues wagging – and the entire village is watching. –@NewsSA_Online
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