Authorities are one step closer to uncovering what caused the deaths of the six children in the township south of Johannesburg, police revealed on Thursday (24 October).
Monica Sebetwana (6), Ida Maama (7), Isago Mabote (8), Karabo Rampou (9) and Njabulo Msimanga (7) died on Sunday, 6 October after eating chips from a local spaza shop that authorities determined were contaminated by a chemical agent. The last surviving child, Katlego Olifant (7), died on Sunday, 13 October after a week-long battle in intensive care.
The investigation – what Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has called a systematic search for the cause of the tragedy – has uncovered traces of a chemical used to kill insects in two spaza shops in the area, Gauteng police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni told the media on Thursday.
“We have results from the forensic labs which clearly indicate that the cause is carbamates. It is a bait that kills insects,” Mthombeni said.
An inspector holds a packed of banned insecticide found inside a spaza shop in Naledi, Soweto. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)
While the commissioner did not say whether the spaza shops that were tested were directly linked to the children’s deaths, the use of chemical agents to kill pests, particularly ones that are banned in South Africa, is a trend that persists in many of the nation’s townships and informal settlements.
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Daily Maverick witnessed this when the publication joined the team of 80 health inspectors in a multidisciplinary assessment of spaza shops on Wednesday. They were joined by officials from the National Institute For Communicable Diseases, the Border Management Authority and the departments of Health and Agriculture.
When they visited a spaza shop in Naledi extension 1, the owner initially tried to flee. After following the Mozambican down the road and instructing her to return and open the shop, the inspectors asked whether she used any banned pesticides in the shop.
A crime protection warden outside a closed spaza shop where six children allegedly bought snacks that may have led to their deaths. (Photo: Lerato Mutsila)
Gauteng police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni briefs the media on his first 100 days in office at Tshwane Metro Police Department headquarters in Pretoria on 13 June 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Frennie Shivambu)
The woman denied this but an inspection of the shop uncovered a packet of a banned insecticide that appeared to be from China. It was confiscated and the woman was instructed to close her shop. It will be tested before it is destroyed, as per procedure.
Speaking to Daily Maverick in the field, deputy director of environmental health at the Health Department Belinda Makhafola said these highly poisonous and banned forms of pest control are not only used in spaza shops but in households as well. However, the department did not have the capacity to inspect every household in the province.
“Communities prefer these banned pesticides because they are very effective compared to the normal ones that are sold on the shelves. When we ask them where they get the substances, they all have different stories. Once we are able to track the supplier and charge them for illegally selling a banned substance then we will be able to deal with access to the community,” Makhafola said. DM