One of the six kids who consumed poisonous chips from a Naledi spaza shop on Sunday, Katleho Olifant, age seven, is still alive.
Katleho is said to be in critical condition in the intensive care unit (ICU).
Speaking to Sunday World on Thursday, Mmota Lazarus, the councillor of Naledi, said there was a WhatsApp text that went viral claiming that the child had died.
“It was a lie; the child is still alive,” said Lazarus.
He went on to say that the owners of the spaza shops that are accused of selling the snacks to the kids will face consequences.
“This cannot keep happening in this area. It cannot be that we are burying children every year in October as a result of these shops; they must go,” he said.
Lazarus claims that the reason the spaza shops are operating in the neighbourhood is because some customers claim that the shop owners give them food on credit.
We cannot tolerate this any longer
“But at what cost? If there are people who are against them leaving our area, it means they will leave with them. We cannot tolerate this any longer,” he added.
The Gauteng education department spokesperson, Steve Mabona, confirmed that the child remains in critical condition.
“The Gauteng department of education wishes to confirm that the Grade 1 boy learner from Karabo Primary School who was admitted to a local medical facility following the recent food poisoning incident in Soweto remains alive and is still in ICU,” Mabona said in a statement.
Authorities are hopeful that the boy will survive to answer questions regarding the children’s whereabouts and possible food intake that day.
Sunday World has been informed that a memorial service will take place on Friday and that the five children will be buried in a mass funeral on Sunday.
