"He was about to graduate at school, I bought, arranged and paid every but now it’s all gone."
Those were the words of the father of the five-year-old Siyabonga Mnisi, who died on Wednesday in Diepkloof, Soweto after eating snacks from local spaza shop.
Siyabonga's father, Samuel Mnisi told the media on Thursday that his son sent him a message reminding him that he must be present at his graduation.
Siyabonga was in Grade R and progressing to Grade 1. However, the father will never see his son graduate and as a result expressed disbelief.
The minor reportedly had diarrhoea and vomiting before being brought to a nearby clinic, where he was declared dead.
"I can't believe what happened... I don't know where to go and what to do. I am still shocked," he said.
According to the dad, he received the first call that his son was not well and was rushed to Koos near Baragwanath Hospital for medical attention. The second call was to confirm that his son was dead, he said.
"After 20 minutes, I received another call from them saying my son is gone... I took a taxi to the hospital and when I got there, everything was bad, it was bad, very bad... my son was there.. I don't even have words to say."
On Thursday morning, the national government announced that the Disaster Management Centre had officially classified food-borne illnesses as a National Disaster under the National Disaster Management Act.
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) expressed strong condemnation over the latest death linked to the ongoing food-borne illness crisis.
Reports suggest that over 24 children have died in recent weeks across the country under similar conditions.
The Gauteng Economic Development MEC Lebogang Maile also visited the Mnisi family to extend his condolences.
He condemned the situation, stating this level of disrespect from the shop owners should not be tolerated because it endangered the lives of children and the public.
He called for decisive action following Siyabonga's death.
Mnisi (father) hoped that this could be an eye opener for the government to act tough on certain things.
"Maybe they will see from the community's uproar, they will receive a good message from them. And then maybe they will take a step further and something about this," he said.
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