The family of the most recent child victim to die due to suspected poisonous food has requested the government to bar informal traders from selling to schoolchildren.
The request, made to the Gauteng education department, comes after the child allegedly consumed juice bought from a vendor outside his school premises.
Lethu Sikonde, a pupil at Kwanele Primary School in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, passed away on Sunday morning after battling a stomachache since Thursday afternoon.
Lethu is the 12th child to perish in Gauteng in a space of a month.
Boitumelo Sikonde, his older sibling, claims that her brother was his typical cheerful self when he left for school on Thursday.
However, after he drank a juice he allegedly purchased from the school’s vendor, things took a turn for the worst.
“When I came back from work, he was already back from school sleeping. That was unusual because he always comes back late as he plays with his friends after school,” said the sister.
“When I asked my mother why he was sleeping, she said he complained about a stomachache.”
Declared dead at the hospital
According to the family, their suspicion was on the food that Lethu ate at school.
“We asked him what he ate at school, and he told us that it was pap and maas; we were surprised because that is his favourite.
“One of his friends told us that he had bought the juice, so on Friday my mother said that he will not go to school because he was weak because he ran to the toilet throughout the night.”
The family bought pain tablets from the pharmacy; however, his state got worse on Saturday evening, and he was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
“Whoever did this to my brother robbed my mother of her happiness. Lethu was the only boy here at home; we miss him already.
“We ask that the department of education get rid of all those vendors and have a school tuck shop so that if a situation like this happens again, we know who to hold accountable,” she said, sobbing.
SGB must attend to the matter
Steve Mabona, the spokesperson for the department, said it does not have the power to control people who sell at schools.
“That is a matter that would have to be attended to by the school governing body (SGB), not the department,” he said.
Matsotetsi Tsotetsi, one of the neighbours who accompanied the family when the child was taken to the hospital, said this is the first case in Katlehong’s Extension 8.
“We are shattered. Lethu was such a sweet boy, and he respected his elders,” said Tsotetsi.
“We understand that the vendors are trying to get their bread, but they need to be stopped if they do not prioritise our children’s health.”
The family said Lethu, who had dreams of becoming a law enforcement officer, will be laid to rest on Thursday in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg.
