An 11-year-old boy was allegedly held down and circumcised without consent by four older pupils in a toilet at Sinqobile Primary School in Soshanguve, near Pretoria, South Africa. Police say three boys pinned the Grade 5 pupil down while a fourth tied a ribbon around his penis and cut off his foreskin with a blade, with no anaesthetic used, before warning him not to tell anyone. The case has caused outrage in South Africa and raised fresh concerns about informal circumcision practices affecting children, coming just days after reports that 43 boys died during a traditional initiation ceremony.

The boy reportedly walked home in pain and hid the injury from his mother for several days before she took him to a doctor, who confirmed the wound resembled those from tribal initiation practices. His mother has opened a criminal case, and police say the alleged attackers, said to be Grade 7 pupils, have been identified in an identity parade but not yet arrested. Officers are investigating the case as assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, while the school and local education department say they are cooperating with the inquiry.