The owner of an illegal initiation school operating in Gauteng has been arrested after an initiate died at the school, said the Gauteng department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs on Thursday.

Department spokesperson Castro Ngobese said the deceased was 23 years old.

“The initiate died at a bogus school around Crown Mines, south of Johannesburg. An alleged suspect responsible for this bogus school has been apprehended by police,” Ngobese said in a statement.

Three other initiates from the same school were rushed to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital for medical attention.

Ngobese said two initiates had now lost their lives at two separate bogus initiation schools in the province.

The other initiate that died was 16 years old. He was from Sebokeng.

He died at a school in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg.

“The alleged operator of the school is on the run and it is reported that he is hiding in West Rand,” said Ngobese.

Meanwhile, MEC for Cogta Lebogang Maile sent condolences to the families of the two deceased initiates. He hailed the police for the one arrest.

“We applaud the men and women in blue uniforms working together with Gauteng provincial task team on Initiations for swiftly apprehending the culprit. More arrests will follow soon in lieu of the fact that another bogus school operator is on the run”, said Maile.

In Vanderbijlpark, another bogus initiation school was shut down by the police after tip-offs from concerned parents.

“Twenty-three initiates have been rescued and taken to a hospital around the area for medical check-ups. The police are on an advanced operation to apprehend the owner of the bogus school,” Ngobese said.