All 6 South African Soweto children died of poisonous Terbufos pesticide: report

A toxicology report confirms all 6 South African Soweto children died from the restricted, poisonous Terbufos pesticide.

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi says a toxicology report has confirmed Monday that the six children from Naledi, Soweto, tragically passed away after consuming organophosphate Terbufos, a banned substance commonly found in pesticides. 

The fatalities occurred as the result of the children having ingested a chemical compound found in pesticides after eating snacks purchased from a spaza shop in Naledi, Soweto, near Johannesburg.

Motsoaledi says the pesticide was being used by the shop owner to kill rats, but that has not been proven. However, he pointed out that any poison used to kill pests is not supposed to kill humans.

“The cause of death is unequivocally organophosphate … a group of substances, which are usually used in agriculture or as pesticides,” Motsoaledi told reporters as he announced the findings of a toxicology analysis.

The incident, one of the many school food poisoning cases reported recently in Gauteng, raises urgent concerns about food safety and regulation in South Africa. These incidents highlight the need for stricter controls to ensure that harmful substances are not accessible through informal markets. 

“Isn’t it the responsibility of the authorities to ensure pesticides like terbufos are regulated more strictly, especially around children? This highlight how neglected public safety is…why are these harmful substances still so accessible?,” X user Ntokozo Masuku shared. 

Commenting further on the tragedy, Motsoaledi said they’re awaiting results of tests on swabs to establish where the deadly organophosphate exactly came from.