Rundu pupils blame cockroaches and dirty kitchen for suspected food poisoning at school hostel

Pupils at Rundu Secondary School in the Kavango East region are blaming the hostel’s alleged dirty kitchen and unhygienic conditions after 15 of them were treatment for suspected food poisoning yesterday.

Four of the pupils are currently admitted to Rundu State Hospital after 283 experienced symptoms of food poisoning after eating pap, chicken and soup for lunch.

Kavango East education director Christine Shilima yesterday confirmed the incident, noting that her office has been informed of the pupils’ suspected food poisoning.

She said health inspectors are currently at the school investigating the incident and will brief her on their findings.

“I’ve been informed that the pupils are sick and health inspectors were sent to school. I’ve not been informed whether they have been hospitalised, but the health inspectors are there,” she said.

Hostel chief matron Meriane Shikusho yesterday confirmed the incident, saying medical staff and other parties attended to the pupils.

“The matter was reported to the relevant authorities, and most of the pupils were brought back to the hostel. Only four have been admitted to hospital,” she said.

Shikusho said the cause of the suspected food poisoning has not been established yet.

“The pupils were served the normal meals the hostel always provides,” she said.

She called on the public and parents not to panic as she “feels the pain” too.

“I’m also a mother, they are my children too, and I was not at peace when I was told this news in the morning. During lunch, I also ate the food just to see if it would give me the same problem,” she said.

A Grade 12 pupil at the school, whose identity cannot be revealed because she is a minor, said pupils started showing food poisoning symptoms after eating pap and chicken during lunch on Monday.

She said the environment in which food is prepared may have caused it.

The pupils are calling for urgent renovations at the school.

Fifteen were taken to the hospital with diarrhoea.

Hostel superintendent Samuel Marungu yesterday confirmed that the pupils got sick after eating at the school.

“At around 02h00 some pupils were running around the block to go to the toilet. They could not sleep as it was beyond their control. One pupil even slept in the laundry room,” the Grade 12 pupil said.

The children are urging the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Health and Social Services to visit the hostel to inspect its conditions.

“I also ate from the food, although I did not have the same symptoms. The kitchen is dirty, the drainage is dirty, and water is not moving. There are flies and cockroaches in the kitchen,” another pupil said yesterday.

“The pupils even missed lessons today. This school needs serious renovation. The ministry should do something,” the pupil said.

This is not the first incident of food poisoning at the school.

Last year, 30 pupils suffered the same symptoms, the pupils say.

Various other schools in Kavango East and West regions have reported serious, recurring cases of suspected food poisoning, with at least two major, separate incidents affecting over a hundred pupils in the Kavango West region this year alone.

Investigations so far have highlighted poor cooking, inadequate storage, and contaminated water in school kitchens.

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