Two pupils die after suspected food poisoning at Mukono school
People are seen at The Green Primary School on October 13, 2023, a day after two pupils belonging to the learning institution died from suspected food poisoning. PHOTO/JESSICA SABANO
What you need to know:
- The school director David Ssefuma emphasized that the killer food was not prepared by the school.
Authorities on Friday confirmed at least two fatalities at a school in Mukono District following suspected food poisoning.
According to police, the two pupils died from The Green Primary School on Thursday after they ate food.
On Friday, police detailed circumstances under which the victims, 13-year-old P7 candidate Andrew Kakumba and 10-year-old P1 pupil Victor Bongole, died the previous day.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that on October 11, Norah Nagujja, a teacher at the school, which operates both primary and nursery sections, took cooked food she had prepared from home to her three children in boarding section . The food contained chicken, sweet potatoes and rice,” Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Patrick Oyango noted.
Police added that: “Nagujja served her children with food and they later shared part of it with their friends (learners). But during Wednesday night, the children who had eaten the food started complaining of abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache and dizziness.”
In total, about 21 pupils ate the food in mention while at the school in Makukuba Village, Nakifuma-Naggalama Town Council
The affected learners were then rushed to St Francis Hospital and other different health facilities in the area.
Those admitted to Kayunga Regional Referral Hospital include Nagujja plus two pupils Catherine Nanyonjo and Leticia Nakasi.
“We have established that Kakumba is a biological son of Nagujja who also ate on the same food together with two of her other children who were not severely affected.”
The two bodies have since been conveyed to the city mortuary at Mulago in Kampala City for postmortem.
St Francis Hospital Naggalama Dr Julius Musinguzi told Monitor that the facility received three categories of victims with some having mild diarrhea.
"Those on admission were five and six under day care treatment in addition to 8 under our patient treatment," he said on Friday.
The school director David Ssefuma emphasized that the killer food was not prepared by the school.
“We were shocked on receiving such sad news and I ask police to thoroughly investigate this matter and establish the truth,” he added.
