Kavango food poison deaths blamed on hunger

Hunger and poverty reportedly led to the deaths of 13 members of a Kavango East family. The family ate suspected poisoned food, having earlier in the day traded reeds for grains so that they could secure a meal.A Namibian Sun visit to Kayova village yesterday established that the family - which consists of 22 members in total - was in desperate need of food.The family is comprised of four households situated close to one another, while none of the members are employed.The deaths are linked to mahangu grains the family got after collecting reeds and trading them. It is not yet the season for harvesting reeds, but the family was forced to do so in exchange for food.The mahangu was sought from a relative identified as Fabianus Mukoya, who lives just some 500 metres away.As of yesterday afternoon, 13 people had died over a span of three days.Children deadThe consumed meal allegedly included porridge made from mahangu that was previously used for a traditional brew.The majority of the deceased are children under the age of 10. By yesterday afternoon, nine other family members were still hospitalised, with one under intensive care.According to a preliminary police report, the family of 22 fell ill on Saturday evening after they had dinner.The entire family was admitted to the Nyangana Catholic Hospital after which 14, whose condition became critical, were transported to the Rundu State Hospital.Two people initially died at the Nyangana hospital, but the death toll rose to seven after five others died at the state hospital in Rundu by Monday.Yesterday by 13:00, the police confirmed that the death toll had risen to 13 after six more died at the Rundu hospital.ConfusedNarrating his ordeal, Mukoya said his family has, since 2014, been selling mahangu which was previously used for traditional brew to community members, and no similar incident was ever experienced.In regards to the tragedy, he said he is confused over what happened, adding that he has not eaten since Sunday.“Those are my family members, I grew up in that house. They have been coming to get those grains for the past five years and nothing happened to them. I am confused."We gave them the grains because they said they had nothing to eat,” Mukoya said.He added that that he is puzzled by the fact that his wife ate a bit of the grains before giving seven scoops of mahangu to the bereaved family. Nothing has happened to her.A distraught Mukoya said two other families got the same grains that day, but did not fall sick.&#039;Anything could have happened&#039;With rumours circulating that his grains might have caused the tragedy, he stressed that his family is innocent and that he does not know what happened between the time they handed over the grains and when the family pounded them and prepared their meal.“Anything could have happened and I don’t want to speculate, but people should not point at the mahangu and my family, as we were just as surprised when we learnt what had happened. The exchange was done in good faith,” he said.In a statement yesterday, health ministry executive director Ben Nangombe discouraged communities from preparing or mixing food with potentially contaminated materials.He added that his ministry has ensured that social workers attend to the bereaved family during this difficult time.Samples of the mahangu - to test for food poisoning - have been sent to South Africa. No arrests have been made yet pending the test results.kenya@namibiansun.com

Kavango food poison deaths blamed on hunger

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-03

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Kavango food poison deaths blamed on hunger

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-03

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