Two more children have died, this time from Vredefort in Free State, after they consumed snacks allegedly bought from a store owned by a foreign national.
Free State provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Baile Motswenyane, confirmed to Sunday World on Wednesday that the girls, aged three and four, were certified dead at a multi-purpose centre in Mokwallo, Vredefort.
Motswenyane said police have opened an inquest docket for investigation.
While the sudden deaths of the children caused devastation and chaos at the shopping centre, the commissioner said public order police are on standby to monitor the situation.
He said the police do not want to speculate on the cause of deaths, however, he noted that they are investigating what the children ate and how it might have affected them.
“We want to assure the community of Mokwallo that as soon as the postmortem process has been completed and the results thereof prove that any specific person must carry the responsibility for their deaths, that individual will face the full might of the law,” he said.
Motswenyane added that he has instructed the investigating officer to leave no stone unturned, especially in consideration of what the girls consumed in the past 24 hours.
The commissioner asked the public to afford police officials time and space to investigate the matter thoroughly, and pleaded with the community not to jump into conclusion without tangible evidence.
Police said no one has been identified as a suspect or arrested in connection with the deaths of the two children.
The kids’ deaths follow that of two other children who met their demise after eating biscuits allegedly bought from a shop owned by a foreign national in Naledi, Soweto.
Two other children from the same area were admitted to the hospital in a critical condition.
In Westonaria, two children were declared dead upon arrival at Mandela Clinic in Bekkersdal earlier in October after eating snacks allegedly bought from a local taxi rank.
Two others were left fighting for their lives in the hospital.
In Protea Glen in Soweto, a child was also declared dead after eating snacks also allegedly purchased from a spaza shop owned by a foreign national.
