uMhlanga mother tells of poisoning ordeal

AN uMhlanga mother said she is shocked and extremely traumatised after her domestic worker admitted to lacing liquids in her fridge with a blue powdery substance thought to be muti. Her entire family, including her husband, three sons and a daughter, fell ill after their food was poisoned last Friday.

A source within the Durban North SAPS said the domestic worker had tried to use muti (traditional medicine) on her employers in the hope the potion would make them like her.

Mandy de Lange made the gruesome discovery a day after her family felt ill, after a pungent odour permeated her kitchen.

Pungent ordour permeated fridge

“I was feeding my daughter and she complained about a horrible taste in her milk bottle. At the time I thought it had a funny taste and thought the milk might have gone off. The next morning (Saturday) when I was drinking my coffee, I could smell something akin to fertilizer which was just overpowering.

“I then opened my refrigerator and found every single liquid in the fridge, our milk, my son’s tropica, the apple juice and the youghurt all had the same smell,” she explained.

Soon after the discovery she alerted the police, who advised her to wait until Monday to open a charge when the domestic worker came to work.

When she arrived at work on Monday police found the same blue powdery substance in her handbag that was found in some of the contents in the fridge. She was arrested and is still in police custody but is now refusing to divulge any more information.

De Lange said it was sheer luck that she had discovered the food poisoning in time before her extended family’s visit. She added that a week prior to the discovery, her children had lost their appetites and were feeling nauseous. She also admitted to feeling fatigued and had vomited numerous times.

Both Mandy and her husband are now on medication after adverse effects from the muti, she has an enlarged liver and her husband’s white blood cells count has increased.

‘She was the best domestic worker I’ve ever had’

The domestic worker who is in her mid 40s had been working for the De Lange family for five weeks. “There were no disputes at all and she was just lovely. She’s was the best domestic worker I have ever had. We had given her clothes and even bought her a quilt the day before we made the discovery,” she said.

“My children are extremely traumatised by the food poisoning incident, they never want a domestic worker again. They said they’d even help with the chores around the house to avoid hiring any help.”

Domestic charged with common assault

SAPS spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker, confirmed the 47-year-old domestic worker was arrested.

“There was a blue powdery substance found which was suspected to be poisonous. We have sent it to the lab for testing, but at this point in time we don’t know what it is,” he said.

Naicker added the domestic worker was charged with common assault and said it would be foolish to open a case of attempted murder until the substance has been tested.

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