Kavango West: A suspect food poisoning incident at Sarukwe village in the Kavango West Region has resulted in two fatalities after a family reportedly consumed fresh beans from their field and porridge made with maize from the drought relief programme.
According to Namibia Press Agency, Police Regional Commander Commissioner Julia Sakuwa-Neo confirmed that six members of the same household – a husband, wife, and their four children – became ill after consuming the porridge and fresh beans on Thursday.
Following the meal, prepared by the mother, all family members experienced severe stomach pain and were subsequently transported to the Rundu State Hospital for medical treatment.
Preliminary police investigations indicate that the family prepared porridge using maize meal from the drought relief programme. The children reportedly sieved the maize meal to remove coarse grains, which were then soaked, sun-dried on a zinc plate, and subsequently pounded into a fine powder.
Commissioner Sakuwa-Neo stated that p
orridge was cooked using this pounded coarse grain maize meal and consumed with the fresh beans.
Ten-year-old Andreas Kasera died on Sunday in the Rundu State Hospital; while 15-year-old Joseph Kasera died in hospital on Monday.
The other affected individuals include 13-year-old Andreas Peter Chilemo and Kasera Andreas, 48, the four children’s father, both of whom are in the Rundu State Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit in critical condition.
Musongo Engelbertha, the children’s mother, and the youngest child, Regina Nduva Kasera (age unknown), have been discharged from the hospital.
Police investigations continue and an inquest docket has been opened regarding the two deaths.