For two days, the family of Hlengiwe Khumalo (13) prayed tirelessly for their daughter to survive a food poisoning after consuming an ice lolly allegedly bought from a foreign national-owned spaza shop in Pimville, Soweto.
CAUGHT OFF GUARD
Her father, Bongani Khumalo, told ZiMoja that he was watching a match between Sundowns and Polokwane City late on Sunday afternoon when he heard someone yelling his name. "Initially, the kids were playing outside when I was lying on the couch. Suddenly, I heard them yelling my name, but I ignored them. Shortly after that, my brother-in-law, who was washing the car outside, told me that it had something to do with Hlengiwe," Khumalo said. He said he rushed outside and the other kids told him that Hlengiwe was in a shack next door feeling sick. "She was lying on a bed with her temperature very high. She complained of stomach cramps. I asked her what she ate and she told me that she had an ice lolly. She still had the lolly pop plastic in her one hand," added Khumalo. He said they took Hlengiwe to the hospital, where she lost consciousness and was later admitted to the intensive care unit, where doctors told the family that whatever made her sick was something she ate.
DISCHARGED
While ZiMoja was speaking to her father, Hlengiwe walked in with her mother after being discharged from the hospital. Looking fragile, Hlengiwe, with the permission of her father, told ZiMoja that she was feeling better and couldn't wait to get out of the hospital because she didn't want to miss any of her final year exams. She said she bought the ice lolly from the shop next door. "My friend asked me not to eat it as it was trending on social media for killing kids. I didn't take her seriously and shortly after finishing the ice, I started getting dizzy and got an extreme headache. My throat became sore and I was feeling hot and fighting the feeling of shutting my eyes," she said, adding that she has learnt her lesson and will never buy from spaza shops anymore.
A MAJOR CONCERN
The said spaza shop is right next door to Hlengiwe's home and opposite a primary school, which has caused major concern in the community. A community member who refused to be named said she fears for the kids who usually buy snacks from the spaza shop. "The shop gets busy after school as all the kids buy from there. It's worrisome because these kids don't listen and with the recent deaths, we are traumatised as parents," the community member said. The community of Pimville went from shop to shop in their neighbourhood, asking spaza owners to shut down their shops peacefully. They said if they fail to comply, they will wreak havoc. The City of Johannesburg Health Inspectors, accompanied by the police, were also in the area to take samples from the spaza shop. Inspector Hopemore Molemo said she couldn't do her job because the shop owner locked and left with the key. "We've been waiting for him to come so we can do the inspection and take samples, but he hasn't come yet. He said he was an hour away. The shop is locked so our hands are tied."
