Girl dies, 7 hospitalised after eating suspected poisonous food

A six-year-old girl, Maryam Mussah, has died while other seven family members, including her parents, are admitted at Mangochi District Hospital after eating nsima with dried usipa commonly known as bonya suspected to have contained poisonous substance.

The tragedy happened on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at Lana Village, Traditional Authority Mponda in the district, according to Mangochi Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) Sub-Inspector Amina Tepani Daudi.

According to the PRO, on the afternoon of the said date, the family of eight including the deceased who was the last born in the family had nsima and bonya as communal lunch, which was prepared by the mother of the house.

“A few hours after consumption of the food, all family members fell sick, were vomiting, and fell unconscious. They were rushed to Mtimabii Health Centre where the little girl was pronounced dead upon arrival.

“The surviving family members were referred to Mangochi District Hospital where they are receiving treatment. Police visited the scene of incident and are also waiting for the autopsy results from the same hospital,” she said in a statement issued on Wednesday and made available to Nyasa Times.

Meanwhile, specimen of the suspected poisonous meal has been collected for further examination, according to Sub-Inspector Daudi.

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