A poisonous snack?

Thirty-six learners from Gunda Primary School in Gunda Halambani, outside Thohoyandou, were admitted to Donald Fraser Hospital on Monday (12th), after falling ill in class.

The school’s principal, Mr Ndivhuwo Samuel Makhuvha, said the learners began complaining of stomach pain after their lunch break. “Then some of them started vomiting. We asked them what they had eaten during the lunch break, and we found that they had all eaten a certain brand of crisps. When we opened different packets of crisps, we saw small, shiny objects inside, like fine glass. We rushed them to the nearest clinic, but the nurses told us that this situation was beyond them, so we took them to Donald Fraser Hospital. Thirty-five pupils were released early on Tuesday morning (13 February), and one was discharged later that afternoon.”

Makhuvha said that the school has 231 learners, and most eat their lunch at the feeding scheme. “The Department of Health visited the school and inspected our kitchen. They found everything in order, including our drinking water. We don’t suspect the food, but we do suspect the new flavour of crisps that they started selling on Monday,” he said.

One of the vendors, who sells snacks and fat cakes outside the school’s gate, said she has been selling the same brand of crisps since last year. “No one has ever come to complain that they are getting sick from these crisps. We have been selling this flavour for a long time. We buy them from a trusted shop in Thohoyandou. On Monday, these learners ate a fish stew and they started to get sick just after their lunch break. I suspect the fish from the school’s kitchen,” she said.

The vendor added that she and seven other hawkers are currently suspended from selling their snacks at the school’s gate. She said the principal told them that he would call them once they had found the real cause of the outbreak.

The spokesperson for the Department of Health in Limpopo, Mr Neil Shikwambana, confirmed the incident, saying the learners were taken to the hospital with various symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, and sore throats. “The children received treatment and the majority responded very well to it,” he said.

The police in Tshaulu have opened an inquest, and the incident is being investigated.

Date:16 February 2024

By: Maanda Bele

Maanda  Bele, born and raised in Nzhelele Siloam, studied journalism at the Tshwane University of Technology.

He is passionate about current news and international affairs.

He worked as part of the Zoutnet team as an intern in 2017.

He is currently a freelance journalist specialising in news from the Vhembe district.

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