EMBATTLED mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith should apologise for his “racist” claim that drugs may have been the cause of death of three Langa teenagers after they consumed vetkoek and polony, because an autopsy has found it was no
IF SMITH DOES NOT APOLOGISE, THE FAMILY WILL SUE HIM ‘Say sorry JP, it wasn’t drugs’
to sue him.
Smith is currently suspended from all DA activities, along with Mayor Patricia de Lille, after he accused her of corruption in using state funds to upgrade security at her home and for building works. He further alleged in a letter to DA leader Mmusi Maimane that De Lille had clipped the wings of his “Special Investigations Unit” because it was about to expose her corruption.
But City Speaker Dirk Smit has denied this, saying the upgrade was required by the police and correctly paid for by the state, and that building works had been paid for by De Lille.
In a statement on September 6, the ANC Western Cape expressed shock “at the refusal by Smith to apologise to the families of three boys – Athule Makhonzi, 15, Khanyisa Mtamzeli, 17, and Mzingisi Gobecimele, 17 – who died after consuming vetkoek (deep fried bread dough) with polony on August 27.
“Smith reportedly released a statement claiming that autopsies were concluded and there was ‘suspicion of possible drug use or a potential other form of poisoning’. His claim was also refuted by SAPS spokesperson Noloyiso Rwaxana, who said information in Smith’s statement never came from her office.
“This is a clear demonstration of utter arrogance on his part and lack of respect for the grieving families. The families do not need statements like this during their bereavement.
‘‘If in Smith’s eyes ‘every black child is a drug addict’, it is veiled racism. The ANC calls on Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille to take action against her ‘sheriff ’.’’
The ANC added it would not hesitate to take the matter to either the Equality Court or the Human Rights Commission if Smith failed to comply with the families’ wishes and request for him to unequivocally apologise.
An autopsy has found that one of the three boys, Khanyisa Mtamzeli, died as a result of an insecticide in the vetkoek or the polony, and not drugs as claimed by Smith.
A letter from the provincial Health Department to his mother, Neziswa Mtamzeli, dated September 29, says: “This is to certify that Dr Sipho Mfolozi performed a medico-legal autopsy on the body of the deceased Khanyisa Mtamzeli, which was marked WC 11/2476/2017, at the Salt River Forensic Pathology Laboratory on September 1, 2017 … the cause of death was due to (unnatural) consistent with organophosphate ingestion.”
Khanyisa’s friends, Athule Makonzi and Mzingisi Gobecimele, died on August 27 apparently after eating the vetkoek the previous day.
Their friend Athabile Simayile, 17, who shared the meal, survived.
He was discharged from Somerset Hospital four days later.
Smith had said the police “indicated that it does not appear to be food poisoning and that it appears that the children mixed other substances into their food”.
Smith said the autopsies had been concluded, but the police would need the toxicology reports to confirm suspicions of possible drug use or other potential types of poisoning.
“Symptoms experienced by all three include foaming of the mouth and stomach cramps. Autopsies were concluded but SAPS will need the toxicology reports to confirm the suspicion of possible drug use or potential other forms of poisoning,” said Smith on the City’s WhatsApp group.
Yesterday a grieving Neziswa Mtamzeli said she was waiting for Smith to apologise unconditionally.
“He (Smith) went publicly and said my child had died as a result of drugs. Now the results are back and say a different story, that they died of insecticide like we predicted.
“His remarks do not sit well with us as a family because everywhere we go, in public transport and on social media people believed what he said.
“He must release a statement and retract what he said.
“Khanyisa never tasted drugs. That is why I was so adamant that it can’t be drugs. If Smith fails to apologise I will take further steps and sue him. Where did he get the information that it is drugs? What is he saying now that the results have come back and differed from what he said?” asked Mtamzeli.
Athule’s sister Pamela Copela said they were still waiting for the autopsy results but were convinced the results would be similar to that of Khanyisa.
Approached for comment last night, Smith said: “As previously stated, it is not reasonable to issue an apology for information which did not originate from the City. Such an apology should originate from the South African Police Service.
“The information relayed was supplied in response to a media query. It was supplied by the City’s Environmental Health Department, which they in turn obtained from the South African Police Service.”
Rwexana previously denied this.
Smith said: “The response clearly stated that the toxicology report alone would indicate whether the food sold by the vendor or other substances had been responsible for the poisoning. The response warned residents and the media that premature allegations against the food vendor could also lead to legal and criminal consequences for residents or media and that no allocation of blame should be made until the toxicology report had been received.”