The President of the Republic of South Africa orders to carry out inspections and remove the victims of the deaths of children from military killings

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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a large-scale search of clothing stores and informal street corner shops on Friday after more than 20 children died of food poisoning, some linked to farm murder.

In a televised evening address to the nation, Ramaphosa said the shops involved in the children’s deaths would be closed immediately and local authorities should remove the piles of rubbish that were causing the rat infestation.

He said 890 cases of foodborne illness had been reported since the beginning of September 2024, with at least 22 children dying in the past few weeks.

In a high-profile case, six young children died in Johannesburg’s Soweto last month after eating chips at an informal shop known as a spaza.

Many spaza shops in South Africa are run by foreigners, including from Ethiopia and Pakistan, and the deaths have sparked a xenophobic backlash.

A bag of crisps found in one of the dead children contained traces of a pesticide called Terbufos, which is registered for agricultural but not general use, Ramaphosa said.

To get dangerous pesticides off the street, “a massive door-to-door campaign of all spa shops, hygiene shops and other informal traders will be carried out,” the president said.

“Any shop that is not registered within 21 days and does not meet all sanitary regulations and requirements will be closed.”

Ramaphosa said the chemical and others were used in some cases because poor waste collection by local authorities led to rat infestations.

“Our local municipalities will have to take urgent measures to solve the problem of rat infestation by cleaning up towns and villages and removing waste,” he said.

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