Snacks that killed five kids bought from approved tuckshop
By Doreen Mokgolo
The tuckshop in Naledi, Soweto, where five children allegedly bought poisoned snacks on Sunday afternoon and died shortly after eating them, was inspected by officials and approved as compliant two months ago.
The inspection was part of the Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development’s campaign to ensure that tuckshops in the township comply with health and safety regulations.
The five primary school friends – Zinhle Maama, 7; Njabulo Msimango, 7; Karabo Rampou, 8; Isago Mabote, 8; and Monicca Sathekge, 6 – were certified dead at Zola, Chiawelo, and Jabulani hospitals.
Seven-year-old Katlego Olifant is fighting for his life in an intensive care unit.
His mother, Lydia Oliphant, said: “My son is a fighter. Though he is in great pain, he is fighting, and we are holding onto prayer that he survives this ordeal.”
Agnes Mabote said that when her grandson, Isago, returned from the spaza shop, “he was shaking, and his heart was beating fast; then he started throwing up a brownish substance through his mouth and nose”.
“The children turned purple with swollen tummies and were vomiting a brown substance,” she said.
Health and Safety MMC for the Johannesburg metro, Ennie Makhafola, said although the community had looted the shop on Monday, officials managed to take some samples of the “brown dash” snack, which were sent for tests.
“We are concerned about the items that were looted; we are hoping that there will be no more deaths. We are pleading with residents not to eat any of the looted food items,” she said.
Angry residents protested outside different spaza shops on Tuesday, forcing them to close their doors.
Nomsa Nkosi told Scrolla.Africa, that residents want the foreign tuckshop owners to move and never return.
“Last year, two children died after eating poisoned food; now it’s five. How many more lives must be lost before these people leave?
“We are not xenophobic; we just want them to leave our community,” she said.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi visited the families and said he hopes Katlego Olifant survives so that he can provide information about the snack they ate and where they bought it.
Major General Fred Kekana, the acting commissioner of police in Gauteng, said no one had been arrested in connection with the deaths. Police are investigating and following all leads.
Pictured above: Joseph Sathekge, the grieving father of six-year-old Monnica, and Ennie Makhafola, the MMC of Health and Community Safety in Joburg.
Source: Doreen Mokgolo
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