Pretoria - The Gauteng Education Department has confirmed that all 90 pupils who had been admitted to hospital after consuming “space cookies” have been discharged.
The Grades R to 7 learners from Pulamamadibogo Primary School in Soshanguve, Block Y, were attended to by health officials last week after complaining of nausea, stomach cramps and vomiting.
Three suspects – Amukelani Nyulunga, 19, Ofentse Maluleka, 21, and Katlego Matlala, 29 – appeared before the Soshanguve Magistrate’s Court yesterday for their formal bail application.
Education spokesperson Steve Mabobna said yesterday: “All learners were discharged. We don’t have any current learners still in hospital, but we are just here monitoring this case very closely as we are working very closely with the police and the department of health to make sure that we get the test results. We are also working very closely with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) just to understand what is happening,” Mabona said.
He added that the investigation was ongoing from a district perspective. However, the schools were still closed.
“We have been interacting with the school, supporting them up until the school closed, but we then continued to support the learners as you know that some of them were discharged last Friday.
“There are the last two who are mending very well, but hope that by the time the schools reopen, all the children will all be feeling better so that we continue with the process of schooling. But we are comforted that the law enforcement agencies are doing their work,” he said.
Mabona said the department was aware that the suspects were not normal street vendors that would be outside the school selling goods.
“It is understood that these people were here for a short space of time. We are told that they were new in the area and started selling to the children,” he said.
He said the department was working closely with the Student Governing Body (SGB).
Pretoria News