A joint operation of several stakeholders including the Gender Division, Zambia Police, and Livingstone City Council has rescued 48 boys from an illegal Mukanda, a traditional Initiation Camp for boys.
The operation follows an outcry from parents who complained their children were captured without consent.
Later, police arrested the organizers namely Kenneth Makai and Kays Kapalu for setting up the camp without a permit from the council and recruiting initiates without parental consent.
Speaking on the sidelines of the operation, Office of the Vice President Gender Division Permanent Secretary Mainga Kabika has disclosed that some boys were found with complications on their private parts but are being treated at the hospital.
It was further revealed that some boys are on Anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
The camp has been burnt and closed indefinitely with special emphasis that organizers follow stipulated guidelines.
The organizers have since been released on bond.
By Gabriel Josias Muuba