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Unchecked Vendor Snacks Cause Schools Health Crisis in Gauteng

Published October 21, 2023
1 years ago

A pressing public health concern has emerged from Gauteng as tainted snacks from street vendors have landed more than 60 learners from two different primary schools in the hospital. The learners, sourced from Tlotlompho and Reimolotswe Primary Schools, fell seriously ill after consuming these snacks, according to Steve Mabona, the spokesperson for the Gauteng Education Department.



Approximately 22 learners from the Tlotlompho Primary School, and another 40 from Reimolotswe Primary School, needed medical intervention. From Tlotlompho only four had to be hospitalised, and they have since been discharged. Acute symptoms presented by the learners included vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and shortness of breath.


Alarmingly, the critically ill students at Reimolotswe were also traced back to a common thread - a snack known as "Dibombolina" procured from various hawkers around the school vicinity. Like their counterparts at Tlotlompho, all Reimolotswe learners were hospitalised but have been successfully discharged.



As a direct response to this acute public health concern, the Education Department has promised psycho-social support for the affected schools, underscoring the reverberating mental impact of this incident. The Department also fervently urged school governing bodies and local communities to exercise intense vigilance in checking the food and snacks sold in and around schools.


Adding to the guilty parties, three suspected individuals who are accused of selling 'space muffins' - muffins infused with cannabis - to a staggering 90 learners from the Pulamadibogo Primary School in Soshanguve, were denied bail. They face a startling 43 counts of attempted murder, raising further concerns for food safety in and around Gauteng schools.


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