Two girls aged one and seven years have died at Livayi village in the Kavango East Region due to suspected food poisoning, while another six children are receiving medical treatment at the Rundu State Hospital.

The hospitalised children are two two-year-olds, a four-year-old, a five-year-old, a ten-year-old and a 12-year-old, Namibian Police Force (NamPol) acting regional commander, Deputy Commissioner Eino Nambahu told Nampa on Tuesday.

He said the incident happened Monday. It is alleged that the family prepared porridge with traditional spinach known as mutete for lunch. After lunch, one of the elder kids reportedly complained of stomach ache.

For supper which took place at around 17h00, the family prepared porridge with milk.

At around 19h00, seven-year-old Elfriede Nangombe Shinyemba started vomiting, felt weak and died.

Nambahu said police from Ndiyona Constituency, where the incident happened, together with medical personnel from the Nyangana District Hospital departed to the scene and found Shinye
mba deceased, while others were vomiting and in a weak state.

‘The medical personnel started giving first aid to try and stabilise their condition,’ he said.

The seven kids were immediately rushed to the Nyangana District Hospital and later transferred to the Rundu State Hospital. While being transferred to the Rundu State Hospital, the youngest of the seven kids, one-year-old Melania Nahambo Likuwa died.

Nambahu indicated that a team from NamPol and the Ministry of Health and Social Services in the region departed to the homestead of the eight children in Ndiyona to assess the situation.

He said all the necessary samples were collected and will be taken to the laboratory for further investigations.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency