Zambia: A victim from Chifunabuli District has died from a case of food poisoning after he consumed food that was contaminated at a social event. The reports suggest that several other members of the community had suffered food poisoning
The social event was called ‘Chilanga Mulilo.’ According to the officials, the event was hosted in Chifunabuli District in Luapula Province. The District Commissioner of Chifunabuli confirmed the new of the death to the media.
Commissioner Stanley Mukosa identified the deceased as Judith Mubanga. The victim was 19 years old and came from the Chief Mwewa’s Chiefdom. The family of the victim has informed the police officers that the incident happened on Friday.
“I can confirm that one person from Chief Mwewa’s Chiefdom identified as Judith Mubanga aged 19 died after consuming food believed to have been poisoned during a Chilanga Mulilo,” The district commissioner said.
Commissioner Mukosa explained that on Friday at approximately 15:00 Hours, the victim was in the company of others. They were at the house of a pastor identified as Barnabas Mubanga in Mwewa Village.
The aim of the visit was to receive Chilanga Mulilo and after consuming the Chilanga Mulilo food. The people who were at the house started vomiting and had diarrhoea at night.
On Saturday August 03, 2024, members of the community confirmed that all the people who consumed the food at the Chilanga Mulilo suffered the same. Further, they were vomiting extensively.
On Sunday, August 04, 2024, the now deceased was rushed to Mwewa Rural Health Centre where she died the same day,” he said.
He said the matter was reported to Chifunabuli Police on Monday August 05, 2024 around 11:00 hrs by the deceased’s relatives as they were requesting for a postmortem to be done.
A postmortem was conducted at Lubwe Mission Hospital and findings revealed that the deceased died of poisoning.
Commissioner Mukosa said more samples have been collected for further examinations and relatives have been advised to bury the body and mark the grave and no arrest have been made as police conduct their investigations.