Six men have died, two men have been discharged and two remain in hospital
On June 2, GroundUp reported the death of six Zimbabwean and Malawian nationals from Masiphumelele, Cape Town, assumed to have died from methanol poisoning after drinking homemade beer.
Since then two other men have been discharged and two remain in hospital. Family members told GroundUp the surviving men have severe damage to their eyesight.
“I am eight months pregnant with two other children, and my husband, our provider, is gone. I honestly do not know what we are going to do now,” said 33-year-old Sania Rungana, who is unemployed.
Her husband, Tapera Edward Kuseni, died at False Bay Hospital a week ago.
“My husband started drinking on Saturday. He came home and slept and drank again in the evening on Sunday. The person selling the alcohol was our neighbour. We didn’t think anything of the alcohol and the bottles had no writing on them,” said Rungana.
She said on Monday morning her husband couldn’t speak and “seemed confused”.
“We now have nothing, no food, no money to pay rent, and my child back home in Zimbabwe wants to go back to school. How will I pay for it now? I can’t work because I am heavily pregnant … My husband took care of all of us. Even family back home depended on him,” said Rungana.
Kuseni’s brother, Richard Chinembiri, said: “I was drinking with my brother on Saturday and Sunday. And on Monday morning I was to wake up early and go to the market. But I had a severe headache and I thought I was still hungover.”
He had not at first thought that the problem was related to the alcohol.
“I went with them to the hospital and we had him [Kuseni] admitted and I came back home, but things started getting worse — the headache was worse and I couldn’t walk properly. I was admitted into hospital the same night my brother died,” he said.
He was discharged days later, but he still feels weak.
“My eyesight is not good. I can only see things that are close by and I have constant joint pains and headaches. I could have died,” said Chinembiri.
“I want my eyes to get better because without them I can’t work. With my brother gone, I need to be able to support the family and can’t do that if my eyes are still like this,” he said.
“I then also went to False Bay Hospital where I was admitted, then transferred to Groote Schuur. The doctor told me that I was lucky,” he said.
“I left my friend in Groote Schuur Hospital. His eyes are not working; he can’t see. I am sad because that could have also been me. What would have happened to my partner and my child because they depend on me?” said Eliya.
Police spokesperson Col Andrè Traut said the circumstances surrounding the deaths are under investigation after they allegedly consumed homemade beer in Masiphumelele.
“Death inquest case dockets have been registered and the exact cause of their death is yet to be determined,” said Traut.
THEMBELA NTONGANA
- This article was first published by GroundUp.
