Food poisoning victims laid to rest

The two women of Balanganani village outside Vuwani who died of suspected food poisoning, were laid to rest during a joint funeral that was held at the village´s cemetery last Saturday.

Ms Hlekani Mathebula (53) and Ms Ndaheni Mihlaba Mudau (45) died after they had allegedly eaten food and drunk a home-brewed traditional beer, Mutomboti, and traditional mageu at the funeral of granny Kwatisa Chauke (69) who is also alleged to have died of food poisoning.

The two residents who died are part of more than 150 residents who were rushed to the nearby Elim Hospital after they had complained of stomach pains and diarhoea. Most of the residents who were helping out at Chauke´s funeral on June 27 were affected.

The headman for Balanganani village, Musanda Vho-Ntikeni Nesengani, accuses the brewing of traditional beer in the village. He said during the funeral that the residents should stop brewing traditional Mutomboti. "What happened in these village is very painful and needs to be taken seriously or else the community will perish. These people died while vomiting blood, which shows that it is really the cause of tshiganame (food poisoning)," he said.

He said the residents must be united to fight the food poisoning scheme. Nesengani said that the culprit was known in the village, but the police were not doing anything about it. A suspect, however, was taken by the police for safety as community members threatened to kill her.

Although the police declined to comment about the post mortem results, the spokesperson for the Vuwani police, Warrant Officer Elijah Malatjie, confirmed that the test was conducted last Wednesday. It has been inconclusive, however, because the post mortem results in Mirror´s possession, conducted by the forensic pathologist at Elim hospital, indicate that the cause of death is "allegeded poisoning".

Community members are now unhappy about the "alleged poisoning" result. They say the results are not clear. According to one of the family members, Mr Eric Mabasa, what is troubling him is the fact that the suspect appeared before a kangaroo court, where she apologised and was fined R50, which she paid. The residents are now scared of what might happen next.

News - Date: 16 July 2010

Peter Muthambi

Peter Muthambi graduated from the University of Venda with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Studies. He started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror as well as national papers in 2006. He loves investigative journalism and is also a very keen photographer.

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