Father questions why foodborne illnesses only affect children

Distraught father, Samuel Mnisi, says it’s concerning to see that the deadly food poisoning incidents that have besieged the country seem only to affect children.

His son, 5-year-old Siyabonga, tragically lost his life last night after allegedly consuming snacks that were bought at a local spaza shop owned by foreign nationals.

Three of his friends were also hospitalised, while one of them remains in a critical condition.

Mnisi says there’s something sinister about the wave of young lives being lost to food poisoning.

The father says this has now become a pandemic.

He shared how his son was preparing to attend his graduation ceremony on Friday.

“I don’t even have words, even now I can’t believe what happened.”

He described the state he found his son in as very bad.

Aggrieved community members in Diepkloof took to the streets, calling for all foreign-owned shops to be shut down.

They claim that at least 25 children have, so far, died of suspected food poisoning in the area.

Ward 29 councillor, Brenda Dammie, says some landlords are now offering their IDs to foreign nationals to register their businesses.

The government has set a 21-day deadline, saying businesses that fail to register will have to close down.

Dammie says they are pleading with police to dispose of the Diepkloof stock, raising concerns that the shop owners will operate in other areas with the same stock alleged to be contaminated.

 

It’s now emerged that the shop owner of the store where the late 5-year-old bought the snacks that allegedly led to his death stocked at Jumbo Cash & Carry in Main Reef.

The shop owner is currently in police custody after Terbofus, popularly known as Halephirimi, was found in the ceiling of his shop.

While Gauteng MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, has told journalists that the shop owner’s documents are said to be valid, the man at the centre of controversy has admitted to being in the country illegally.

He has, however, said that he has no idea what could’ve killed Siyabonga.

The government is now treating food-borne illnesses as a National Disaster.