Rat poison taken for sugar in deadly porridge incident

Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
THREE children from Old Magwegwe suburb in Bulawayo who ate poison after their cousin mistook it for brown sugar on Saturday, are stable and remain admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital.

Their cousin aged five died a few minutes after consuming the porridge and the three survivors aged eight, 12 and 18 years were rushed to hospital where they are admitted.

The incident happened around 11 AM on Saturday.

In an interview yesterday, Mpilo acting chief executive officer Professor Solwayo Ngwenya said the three were stable and being treated from the general wards.

He said the family brought the substance which was mistaken for sugar and healthcare workers at Mpilo discovered that it was in fact rat poison.

“We have three patients who are victims of an unfortunate incident which led to the death of a child on Saturday. All three are stable in the general wards. We understand that they cooked porridge on Saturday and the now deceased mistook the rat poison for brown sugar,” said Prof Ngwenya.-@thammoe