Protea family demands answers after another boy dies of suspected food poison
The family said they learnt through his friends that the teenage boy was given a packet of chips by the shop keeper at a nearby spaza shop where he frequently helped off load new stock.
The family of another child who died from a suspected poisoning in Protea South, Soweto is seeking answers.
14-year-old Kwanda Mzazana became the latest child to die in a mysterious manner on Monday after eating a packet of chips allegedly from a local foreign owned shop.
The Mzanana boy was found collapsed at his home and was rushed to Chaiwelo clinic where he was declared dead, in what nurses explained was suspected to be food poisoning.
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“He was okay on Monday. We had the same breakfast and lunch with everyone in the house.
“He left to go play and came back to bath around 14:00pm, his twin sister found him on the floor, with foam and blood coming out from his mouth,” explains a distraught Ntombinkulu Mzanana.
“He was still alive when we rushed him to the clinic. We were there for about 15 to 20 minutes when the clinic told us they suspected it was food poisoning.”
The family said they learnt through his friends that the teenage boy was given a packet of chips by the shop keeper at a nearby spaza shop where he frequently helped off load new stock.
The family told the publication when they visited the shop, the owner initially denied seeing Kwanda and later retracted his statement admitting that he had given him a packet of chips.
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The shop keeper, according to the community, produced a slip of where he had stocked his products.
“We want to know what killed Kwanda. Was there something wrong with the chips? The same chips he gave Kwanda could endanger other children.
“We want justice for my brother. If his products caused his death indeed then they should be closed down,” she said.
The family was awaiting post-mortem results to confirm the cause of death, however they said they feared the child was given expired or counterfeit goods.
“The situation is hard especially on the girl twin as she was the one who found him. The mother is also not coping. His passing is sudden and unexplainable.”
When Urban News visited the community on Thursday, the spaza shop had been temporarily closed by members of Mamas Forum and residents.
“We just asked them to temporarily close the ship at least until the funeral and post mortem to be made available. This is just merely out of respect for the family.
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“We are trying to avoid a situation, where we are led by assumptions and not facts,” a resident told the publication.
Meanwhile, the families of the Neo Khang and Leon Jele in Naledi are still awaiting post-mortem results.
The Department of Health on Thursday confirmed the death of two other children in the West Rand in a similar incident after eating snacks bought from a nearby taxi rank.
