Family of 12 fall ill after eating leftover rice

A Rundu family of 12 who survived suspected food poisoning believe they fell ill after consuming leftover rice from a celebration the previous day.

The family members, aged between two and 52, were admitted to Rundu Intermediate Hospital last Friday after the incident.

Some were discharged on Friday, the day of admission, and others on Saturday.

Family member Kasinda Beatha, who also fell ill, told Namibian Sun yesterday that the family now believes the cause may have been linked to how the rice was stored rather than contamination before cooking.

“We thought maybe it was the rice, but now we think it might have been how it was kept,” she said.

Beatha said the family held a private party on Thursday, during which rice was prepared and served to guests.

After the celebration, some of the leftover rice was stored overnight for later consumption.

By Friday morning, the stored rice was shared among family members, including children, who ate it before going to school.

Within hours, several family members started vomiting and experiencing stomach cramps.

“They were just vomiting and complaining of stomach cramps,” Beatha said. The family later went to hospital, where they told doctors they had eaten the leftover rice.

She said doctors advised that the illness was likely linked to improper food handling and storage conditions rather than contamination or deliberate poisoning.

Beatha said the family initially suspected the rice, which was bought from a local supermarket, may have been contaminated before it was cooked, but later revised that view.

Multipile cases

The incident adds to a growing number of suspected food poisoning cases reported across the Kavango East and Kavango West regions.

Last month, 283 hostel learners at Rundu Secondary School showed symptoms of suspected food poisoning after consuming bread and polony for dinner, with 15 learners rushed to Rundu Intermediate Hospital for treatment.

Similarly, at Katjinakatji Senior Secondary School in Kavango West in January, more than 100 learners were affected by suspected food poisoning, with 28 transferred to the hospital.

In another incident the same month, more than 15 learners from Maria Mwengere Secondary School were hospitalised after allegedly consuming tainted macaroni and polony.

Also in Kavango West, a 12-year-old child died after reportedly consuming spinach, while others required treatment after eating mopane worms.

In May last year, two children died, and two others were left critically ill in Sarukwe Village after consuming fresh beans and maize meal.

Sixteen members of the Kangungu family died in 2023 following a suspected mass food poisoning incident at Kayova village in the Ndiyona constituency of the Kavango East region after consuming traditional porridge.

These incidents have raised alarm over food safety and public health responses in the two regions.

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) parliamentarian Rosa Mbinge-Tjeundo tabled a motion in the National Assembly on 24 March, calling for a formal debate on the underlying causes of the repeated incidents in Kavango East and Kavango West.

The motion called for a review of response mechanisms, stronger inter-ministerial coordination, and improved interventions to strengthen food safety awareness, public health education and emergency preparedness in the two regions.