A disturbing video has surfaced online showing the moment pupils from Imekhaya Primary School convulsed after consuming a packet of chips purchased from a nearby spaza shop.
Story Summary:
- Nine pupils from Imekhaya Primary School fell ill after consuming a packet of chips bought from a nearby spaza shop.
- Footage of the moment one of the pupils convulsed, barely able to breathe, has surfaced online.
- This marks the first case of mass food poisoning linked to spaza shops goods in the Western Cape.
Imekhaya Primary School mass food poisoning incident: Here’s what we know
Imekhaya Primary welcomed learners back to class on Tuesday, a day after the mass food poisoning incident that rocked the Kwanonqaba community in Mossel Bay.
In a statement, the Garden Route District Municipality confirmed that at least nine pupils fell terribly ill after sharing “packets of chips that they bought from a spaza shop.”
The playground quickly turned into a scene of horror when the affected children collapsed in pain, others caught on camera struggling to breathe.
Emergency medics were seen frantically stabilising one child with a non-rebreathing oxygen mask, while concerned Imekhaya staffers tended to two others who complained about severe stomach cramps.
Miraculously, the children were treated in hospital and discharged later that day.
“Environmental Health Practitioners (EHP) from the GRDM have already initiated an investigation into the incident. The chips will be sent to a laboratory and test results will be made public once received back as part of the standard procedures followed by EHPs,” Garden Route mayor Andrew Stroebel said.
WARNING: THE FOOTAGE CONTAINS GRAPHIC MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR SENSITIVE AUDIENCES. VIEWER’S DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED.
This marks the first publicised case of mass food poisoning linked to spaza shop products in the Western Cape.
In Soweto, health officials running a blitz campaign to inspect and register spaza shops in the region were met with resistance from ‘gatvol’ residents affiliated with Operation Dudula.
Foreign business owners arriving to register their shops at municipal offices in Jabulani, in compliance with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent directive on regulating informal trading, were turned away by Dudula members and local residents.
Protesters accused government officials of sidelining South African spaza shop owners.
One Dudula member voiced frustration, saying, “We are gatvol. But our president decides to prioritise them over us.”
Zandile Dabula, President of Operation Dudula, echoed the sentiment:
“We don’t want them to register their spaza shops. This space must be reserved for South Africans.”
The protests come just days after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national address on Friday, where he unveiled sweeping reforms aimed at regulating spaza shops and tackling food safety risks.
The measures follow a rise in foodborne illnesses that have claimed 22 lives, including those of six children in Naledi, Soweto, last month.
In his address, Ramaphosa identified unsafe practices in spaza shops as a significant concern, citing incidents where food was stored alongside hazardous chemicals like Terbufos, an agricultural pesticide illegally sold as a rat poison in townships.
