By Buziwe Nocuze
Learners from a school in Grabouw, Cape Town were rushed to a clinic on Wednesday when they fell ill after eating sweets they bought from another learner.
On Thursday another group of learners who had bought the sweets said they also felt ill and ambulances picked them up as well.
In all, 30 children from Umyezo Wama Apile Primary School complained of feeling dizzy. Some also had headaches and stomach aches.
Zukiswa Mthembeni, a 45-year-old parent, received a call from the school while she was at work. “I knew that something was not right. I panicked before answering the phone,” she said.
The call was asking her to come to the school.
“They didn’t say much on the call except that my child was sick after eating sweets. I rushed to the school, but I couldn’t find her because she was transported with other learners to the hospital,” she said.
At the clinic, the kids were crying, and some couldn’t even open their eyes, complaining about their pain.
“We were told that they paid R2 for those sweets, and our question is why they felt sick after eating them,” Mthembeni said.
Another parent told Scrolla.Africa that the teachers asked the learner who sold the sweets where she got them.
“She got them from a neighbour who asked her to sell them at school,” the parent said.
Parents waited for their kids at the hospital until the doctors had done tests. Parents said they were told that the children were treated for headaches and stomach pains.
“We have many questions, but we will attend to those questions next week. We want to know what the learner was allowed to sell inside school premises first,” said one parent.
The parents explained that they thought learners were prohibited from selling anything inside school premises.
Bronagh Hammond, Western Cape Education Department spokesperson, said approximately 30 learners reportedly did fall ill after eating sweets allegedly brought to school by another learner.
“The learners were discharged from the medical facility that day, and we are waiting for the result of the blood tests, which will hopefully provide answers as to what caused the reaction,” he said.
An investigation into the incident is underway.
Pictured above: The sweets in question
Image source: Supplied
