Minstrel boss's bar in spotlight after 'mass poisoning'

I didn’t know what’s happening there. I also investigated. So at this point, I can’t tell you anything

A victim of a mass “poisoning” incident in the Cape Town suburb of Wetton said he and five others who ended up in hospital on Monday were given a clear, sour liquid to drink with food from a soup kitchen.

Numerous witnesses alleged the food was handed out at The Penn, a bar owned by minstrels boss Richard “Pot” Stemmet.

But on Wednesday Stemmet said what he told the police: “I can’t say because I wasn’t there. People say there were people there giving food, that’s all that I know about. I didn’t know what’s happening there. I also investigated. So at this point, I can t tell you anything.”

Asked what his investigation had unearthed, he said he found nothing. Stemmet has been arrested five times on charges including assault, dealing in drugs, motor vehicle theft and possession of an unlicensed firearm, with cases dating back to 1994. All the cases against him were withdrawn.

Mondi Dunga, a homeless man living on the streets in the area, said he felt drunk after having a single tot of liquid given to him with free food.

Dunga said everyone who drank the liquid, which he described as wine “with a sour taste”, collapsed soon after with convulsions.

He woke up in hospital, where doctors had pumped his stomach. “It was very strong. I think they put something in there,” said Dunga.

A witness with him said the liquid was handed out when there was no food left.

“The food was finished klaar, so another guy came and gave these guys wine. It was the same guys, the same restaurant.”

Stemmet denied any association with a “soup kitchen” operating from a part of his building, but when pushed said, “Ja, the food was there, there’s no problem with that.

“What is the point of you phoning me now?”

Asked if he knew about the liquid that was handed out, he said, “The liquid ... I don’t know about no liquids, so I can’t comment about the liquids.”

Cape Town mayoral committee member for community services and health Zahid Badroodien said four of the six people admitted to hospital were discharged by Wednesday.

The remaining two were being treated in a high-care unit.

“What we’ve been able to obtain from the provincial health department, and in terms of the blood results that have come back ... there were high levels of alcohol detected and there were other toxins discovered,” he said.

Badroodien said the liquid could have been a substance such as ethanol or methanol.

“Ethanol, by nature of its makeup, is alcohol. There are different kinds in the chemical grouping. It’s difficult to ascertain because there’s ethanol, methanol, and so on. I can’t say because I’m also not aware which tests have been done,” said Badroodien. -