Cape Town – Forensic services have collected food samples from the house in Samora Machel where Elias Vedala lost his two young children in what is suspected to be food poisoning.
Mzwandile, 1, and Maria, 4, had on Tuesday eaten pap with sour milk, meat and Easter eggs before they died, while their 11-year-old brother Tshepo had a narrow escape.
Vedala said from the moment he, his wife and their children fell ill, it was “all surreal”.
"I'm still in disbelief and disheartened that I've lost my children. Why did God allow them to die at such a young age? My wife cooked supper on Tuesday, which was pap with sour milk, and we also ate Easter eggs that she brought from work.
“I noticed that my 4-year-old daughter Maria was vomiting and also had diarrhoea, my wife and I then started vomiting as well. At around 4pm, I realised that my daughter was not moving while she was lying in bed.
“I called my wife and told her that Maria was not moving, her entire body was cold, with her tongue sticking out of her mouth. I called my neighbours who then called the ambulance so we could rush her to hospital.
’’We then rushed to the police station as the ambulance could not come into our neighbourhood, as it first needed to be escorted by the police.
“When we arrived at the station, the ambulance was already there and the paramedics tried resuscitating Mzwandile, but he had already passed on.
’’They also examined my 4-year-old and they told us that she had also passed on. But my 11-year-old son Tshepo was still alive”, he said.
SAPS spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “An inquest case was opened for investigation. A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.”
Cape Times