Three arrested for 'kidnapping' boys to join illegal initiation school

Three men have been arrested for kidnapping boys in the North West to join an illegal initiation school while trying to extort money from their parents, police said on Friday. 

The arrests were made after parents reported their children missing at the Mahikeng and Lehurutshe police stations.

Investigations led police to an illegal initiation school between Ramatlabama and Tsetse villages outside Mahikeng, police spokesperson Lt-Col Amanda Funani said.

Preliminary investigations indicate the three suspects mobilised the unsuspecting boys from the villages around the Mahikeng and Lehurutshe areas to join the initiation school.

“After recruiting these young boys, they would call the parents and demand money for the safety of the victims,” she said.

About 40 initiates aged between 15 and 20 years were rescued.

The illegal schools were closed and the boys taken to a local hospital, Funani said.

One of the suspects, Bongani Moatlhodi, 24, was arrested at Lonely Park and appeared in the Lehurutshe magistrate’s court on Friday in connection with the kidnapping of a 16-year-old boy.

“The other two suspects, aged 26 and 30, are expected to appear in the Molopo magistrate’s court on Monday for their first court appearances.”

The suspects face charges of kidnapping and contravening the Customary Initiation Act, Funani said.

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