While the rest of South Africa were tearing down #BlackMonday and deliberating whether or not to shut down the country on Friday 7 April, three children from Samora Machel informal settlement died from ingesting poisonous food.
The kids, aged between three months and six years old, were rushed to the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital in critical conditions. Police have not confirmed the cause of death but it is believed that organophosphates, a biochemical typically used in commercial pesticides, were found on the meat portions that poisoned the kids. One more child and three adults were affected by the poisonous food.
Health department spokesperson Darren Francis says the SA Police Service, environmental health and the city’s disaster management team have been alerted to investigate the alleged circumstances around the poisonous food.
Photography Jez Timms/Unsplash