adminHarare Bureau
A four-year-old child yesterday died in Mufakose, after eating porridge laced with poison that the domestic worker mistook for brown sugar.The maid is also reportedly in critical condition after eating large quantities of the same porridge.
The mother of the baby who also ate a spoonful of the porridge, was taken to hospital.
When our Harare Bureau visited the home in Mufakose, mourners sent the toddler’s 12-year-old brother (name supplied) to answer questions since he was the one present when the incident happened.
The boy’s parents were not around after his father accompanied the mother to hospital following the incident.
“Our maid is critically ill after eating a large quantity of the porridge. It was around 7am when the maid prepared porridge for my little sister (name supplied). She took only one spoon of porridge and started complaining of stomach pains. My mother started beating her, forcing her to eat because most of the time she has eating problems,” he said.
The boy added that the mother ate a spoonful of the porridge and said nothing was wrong with the porridge.
However, the girl’s condition deteriorated fast and she could not stand on her own.
At that juncture, the maid ate the porridge and immediately fell ill.
In a frantic effort to resuscitate her, the mother gave her milk and she died 30 minutes later before reaching the clinic.
A neighbour who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sachet of the pesticide looks like brown sugar.
Online Reporter