Two children died in Naledi, Soweto, after allegedly eating food from a spaza shop, and some in the community now want what they refer to as foreign-owned stores, to close.
City of Johannesburg officials are calling for calm in Naledi, Soweto, after two boys died on Sunday, 1 October, and two other children were hospitalised after they allegedly ate biscuits and drank juice bought from a spaza shop, which locals say caused them to become ill.
Speaking during a visit to the affected families on Wednesday, Johannesburg Council Speaker Colleen Makhubele acknowledged there was mounting anger over a variety of social issues.
"We are appealing to everybody to allow the police investigation to unfold. We understand that whatever they ate was collected for tests. The South African Police Service is on the case. Please allow them to come back and tell us what happened," Makhubele said.
"We want to appeal to the community that at this time, we do not want to resurrect issues of unrest and violence, especially against foreigners," she said.
The two boys who died were Leon Jele (6) and Neo Kgang (4). It is alleged that moments after they ate the biscuits and drank the juice, they complained of burning throats.
"The cause of death is unknown at this stage, pending postmortem results," Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said.
Community targets foreign-owned stores
Community members...
