Family prays 7-year-old survives after suspected food poisoning

The mother of 7-year-old, Katlego Oliphant, who is fighting for his life in ICU after eating suspected contaminated snacks, says she can only pray he pulls through. 

This after five learners died in Soweto at the weekend, allegedly after consuming snacks from a local spaza shop.

Lydia Oliphant’s desperate cries come as she grapples with uncertainty over her son’s fate. 

She says while Katlego remains critical at a local hospital, the family is trying to stay optimistic about his recovery.

According to the Gauteng Department of Health, over 200 reported cases of food poisoning have occurred in schools across the province since February. 

It’s resulted in at least 10 learner deaths, mostly in townships and informal settlement communities. 

The alarming incidents have sparked calls for stricter regulation of foreign-owned spaza shops to ensure compliance with health and safety standards.

Johannesburg MMC for Health and Social Development, Ennie Makhafola, visited Soweto today, alongside Social Development MEC, Faith Mazibuko.

She says the Naledi tuck shop, where five learners are suspected to have purchased the contaminated food, was compliant with health and safety regulations. 

She, however, acknowledged that health inspectors are struggling to regulate the rapidly growing number of spaza shops. 

“The population of Soweto is vast. We have spaza shops mushrooming almost daily… but we are conducting inspections with our environmental health practitioners,” she said.

Following the death of the five children, residents of Naledi took to the streets, shutting down foreign-owned spaza shops. 

As authorities scramble to uncover the cause of the children’s deaths, community members suspect poor hygiene at local spaza shops may be to blame.

This as the community says it is still grappling with the loss of three children, who died under similar circumstances last year.

MEC Mazibuko emphasised the need for communities to be re-educated on proper health and food safety. 

“We need to encourage community members to check expiry dates… We are working on ensuring our people are educated,” she added.