Father opens up about the pain of losing his 10-year-old daughter

A father of an Alexandra girl who died after eating chips allegedly bought from a spaza shop says the way a normal Saturday turned tragic so quickly makes him feel like he’s having a bad dream that he’ll wake up from very soon.

“I am still in disbelief because it just happened so quickly. I feel like I am in a dream and I am going to wake up and [forget] this bad dream,” he said.

Joshua Maabo’s 10-year-old daughter Lesedi Mulaudzi lost her life on Saturday after complaining chest pains and struggle to breathe after eating the chips.

Not only is Maabo mourning his daughter’s death but his wife and their four-year-old son are in hospital because they also ate the same snack.

“I am in deep pain. I don’t know what to do or where to start. I am just in pain, financially and emotionally.

“I am doing a lot of ups and downs – checking on the mom and the child who are in hospital and tomorrow I need to start going to the morgue to prepare for the funeral and I don’t have funds to do all these.”

On the day she died, Maabo said Lesedi had bought two packets of chips and shared them with her mother and brother.

“I found Lesedi, her mother and the little one eating the snacks and she [Lesedi] said ‘Mama please smell these because they smell funny’.

“The mother and the little one shared one packet and then [Lesedi] had her own packet. They also wanted me to taste the snacks but I said no and told them to throw them away.”

He said after 45 minutes, Lesedi said she wanted to go to the bathroom and then came back and said “papa, I am in pain”.

“I asked her to call her mother and when she was about to fall I managed to catch her; the mother was also worried and asked what was happening.

“We rushed her to the clinic and on the way she was complaining about her chest and also that she was choking. Before that, the mom was complaining that her stomach was feeling funny but ignored it as her focus was on Lesedi,” he said.

“While I was busy with the child’s file at the clinic, she [Lesedi’s mother] started feeling worse and they also attended to her.”

“I had left the little one with his big brother but decided to call him to bring his little brother to the clinic. While they were on their way, I was called and told that [Lesedi] has died,” Maabo said.

The Gauteng department of health spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the 38-year-old mother and her four-year-old son were receiving treatment at Edenvale Hospital after a suspected foodborne illness.

“Both patients are in a stable condition. The department extends its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family during this difficult time.

“The government is concerned about the rising incidents of foodborne illnesses, particularly those affecting children,” Modiba added.

On Sunday, there was a commotion near the spaza shop where Lesedi bought the snacks, with the community demanding that the police enter the spaza shop and take the stock.

Some residents even threatened to break into the shop. Police officers, assisted by community members, were seen removing the stock from the spaza shop as part of evidence, while a large group of residents sang.

Sowetan also spoke to some residents who said the incident had left them “scared”.

One resident said: “Our kids are dying while we are watching. We have seen this happening in other places but now it has happened in our area.”

Another resident said he too felt scared and wondered if other children had eaten the chips.

“This child was still young and still had a future. She did not deserve to die like this; I am wondering if other people also ate those snacks. This is scary.”

For Daphne Ramushu, that residents did not loot the shop after the news broke made her happy.

“Police took the stock and the residents did not take anything from there. It is quite worrying that this thing [children’s death from eating snacks] is becoming a trend. We are losing young people.

“I think where they buy these things is source of the problem. If the government knows where these things are bought, then it must solve the problem,” she said.

Nothile Kunene, the woman who rented out the small space to the tuck shop owner, said she did not know where the snacks were ordered.

“I feel bad; there is a child who has died. It is not the right thing for a parent to lose a child.

“We are going to close the tuck shop and let the SAPS investigate. SAPS should also take the entire stock and go evaluate it.”

Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said an inquest into the cause of death had been opened.

Nevhuhulwi has confirmed that officers took the stock on Sunday, to “get samples for a toxicology test”.

“A team of police investigators in collaboration with health experts and other role players will be investigating the allegations made concerning the food consumed by the victims before falling ill,” she said.