2 die after eating 'poisoned' donkey meat

Windhoek - An elderly man and a 5-year-old boy died last week after consuming donkey meat that was suspected to have been poisoned.

According to The Namibian, the deceased were both members of a family of 11, from the Onkali village in Namibia.

In addition to the deaths, the other nine members of the family were admitted to a nearby hospital for observation and had since been discharged.

Slogan Matheus, spokesperson for the police, revealed that the child died on his way to pre-school, while the elderly man, identified as Malakia Theofulus, passed away at home.

According to Matheus, the family bought the meat from a neighbour on March 31 and ate it for supper, following which eight children fell ill.

The development came just three months after eight people were buried in the Epupa Constituency of the country after they passed away due to food poisoning.

According to New Era, the deceased consumed porridge that was suspected to have been accidentally poisoned.

The family was alleged to have added sediment from traditional beer to the porridge, not realising that the substance was poisonous.