News / Regional
Poisoned amahewu leave 23 youths in hospital
24 Jan 2015 at 15:36hrs | Views
TWENTY-THREE youths from Vulilndlela area in Bulilima area fell ill after drinking a traditional beverage amahewu in a suspected case of food poisoning.
Ten of the affected were treated at a local clinic while 13 others were admitted at Plumtree District Hospital on Tuesday night. The 13 who were admitted at Plumtree Hospital were discharged yesterday morning after their condition stabilised.
The sister of one of the affected youths, Nomsa Sibanda, said their neighbour who works in South Africa, Monalisa Sibanda, had invited villagers to her homestead in Village 3 over the weekend to assist her in ploughing the fields.
She said her brother, Martin Ncube, 23, also attended the event and during lunch time, they were served amahewu prepared by their host.
Ncube said her young brother arrived home on Sunday evening complaining of stomach pains.
She said his condition worsened the following day and she took him to a nearby clinic.
"Martin had a running stomach and he was vomiting. I took him to Madlambuzi Clinic and to my surprise the other youths who also drank the amahewu were at the clinic complaining of the same problem.
"They were given some painkillers and I thought that my brother would improve but his condition worsened at night. I woke up early in the morning and took him to the clinic and he was referred to Plumtree District Hospital together with the other 12," said Ncube.
She said the youths revealed that they fell ill after drinking amahewu at Sibanda's homestead.
Ncube said her young brother was out of hospital but was still complaining of stomach pains.
She said there were suspicions that one of the boys working at Sibanda's homestead could have laced the traditional brew with a poisonous substance.
"There is a young man who works for Sibanda who is the one who gave the youngsters amahewu. He was working with the others but did not drink the amahewu.
"At first we thought that the containers had rust but when we checked they were clean," she said.
Ncube said they were eagerly awaiting results of the tests being conducted on the amahewu.
Another affected youth, Kwanele Mahlangu, 20, said although he was not referred to the hospital, he experienced sharp pains in the abdomen.
He said the pain eventually disappeared.
Local councillor, Clr Francis Tshuma, said the event which was organised by Sibanda was attended by youths aged between 16 and 25 years and a few elderly people who left early.
He said: "We inspected the containers in which the amahewu was served but we did not discover any rust. This left us suspecting that the children could have been poisoned," said Clr Tshuma.
Ten of the affected were treated at a local clinic while 13 others were admitted at Plumtree District Hospital on Tuesday night. The 13 who were admitted at Plumtree Hospital were discharged yesterday morning after their condition stabilised.
The sister of one of the affected youths, Nomsa Sibanda, said their neighbour who works in South Africa, Monalisa Sibanda, had invited villagers to her homestead in Village 3 over the weekend to assist her in ploughing the fields.
She said her brother, Martin Ncube, 23, also attended the event and during lunch time, they were served amahewu prepared by their host.
Ncube said her young brother arrived home on Sunday evening complaining of stomach pains.
She said his condition worsened the following day and she took him to a nearby clinic.
"Martin had a running stomach and he was vomiting. I took him to Madlambuzi Clinic and to my surprise the other youths who also drank the amahewu were at the clinic complaining of the same problem.
"They were given some painkillers and I thought that my brother would improve but his condition worsened at night. I woke up early in the morning and took him to the clinic and he was referred to Plumtree District Hospital together with the other 12," said Ncube.
She said the youths revealed that they fell ill after drinking amahewu at Sibanda's homestead.
She said there were suspicions that one of the boys working at Sibanda's homestead could have laced the traditional brew with a poisonous substance.
"There is a young man who works for Sibanda who is the one who gave the youngsters amahewu. He was working with the others but did not drink the amahewu.
"At first we thought that the containers had rust but when we checked they were clean," she said.
Ncube said they were eagerly awaiting results of the tests being conducted on the amahewu.
Another affected youth, Kwanele Mahlangu, 20, said although he was not referred to the hospital, he experienced sharp pains in the abdomen.
He said the pain eventually disappeared.
Local councillor, Clr Francis Tshuma, said the event which was organised by Sibanda was attended by youths aged between 16 and 25 years and a few elderly people who left early.
He said: "We inspected the containers in which the amahewu was served but we did not discover any rust. This left us suspecting that the children could have been poisoned," said Clr Tshuma.
Source - chronicle
