An 8-year-old boy identified as Christian Boyce, of Chokazinga Village, Traditional Authority Makwangwala in Ntcheu has died after consuming rice with green peas ( sawawa) where a postmortem examination conducted at Kamuzu Central Hospital shows that death was due to food poisoning.

A police report from Lingadzi Police Station has confirmed of the death highlighting that the death was reported by Mr Gilbert Jimmy Boyce, a Guard at G4S, residing at Kauma location.

According to the report, on 26th September, 2022 in the afternoon, Mr Mazengera, full particulars not advised, but residing at Kauma location, carried the remaining cooking food while knocking off as he usually do which at this particular day, it was rice mixed with green peas.

“He kept the food to eat in the morning of September 27th, 2022 as breakfast and his wife prepared tea to be taken by the said rice but while taking the breakfast she started feeling like fever and vomited the food,” reads the report.

It further highlighted that, she thought the vomiting and the fever was due to malaria and stopped eating unfortunately she gave the remaining rice to the deceased to eat with other three children namely; Mishallo Boyce, 8, a twin sister to the deceased, Margret Pofera, 8, and her brother Emmanuel Pofera, 2, of Khalidwe village, Traditional Authority Chiseka, Lilongwe.

“Soon after eating the whole rice all the four children started vomiting up to afternoon hours when the deceased fainted and the other three were weak as they were rushed to a certain private clinic where they were referred to Kamuzu Central Hospital and they were admitted before the young Boyce passed on while the condition of the other three children was fair,” it added.