30 Oct 2019

Jwaneng police are investigating the death of two Samane village school boys believed to have been caused by a poisonous plant.

Station commander, Superintendent Thuso Basuti said the boys died after eating a suspected poisonous plant.

Narrating the story, Supt. Basuti said the boys, together with three others aged between 11-12 reportedly went into the bush on October 23 to look for wild fruits, especially a tuber known in the area as legaba.

He said that when they got home, one of the boys started vomiting and since it was already late, his parents only took him to the local health facility the next morning.

“His condition reportedly failed to improve and the next morning, he got worse and they rushed him to Jwaneng Hospital but unfortunately, he was certified dead on arrival. We suspect he died along the way,” he said.

Supt. Basuti said the other boy, aged 11, also complained of a running stomach in the morning of October 25 and was immediately rushed to Jwaneng Hospital where he was also certified dead on arrival.

He said the other three boys were still under observation at the hospital and were showing positive signs of recovery.

Supt. Basuti said in the meantime, they had taken the samples of the plant to the lab for testing.

He said they suspect that the boys might have mistaken a deadly plant known as mogau for legaba as they were similar in appearance. 

Mogau, known as poison leaf in English, is a small, low-growing shrub found throughout much of Botswana and the rest of southern Africa.

A toxic plant since time immemorial, it has been common cause of lethal poisoning in livestock in the region, mostly cattle, sheep and goats. 

It can easily be confused for a number of other non-toxic species common to its environment.

Above ground, the plant is a small clumped, woody shrub of about 15cm in height and has a huge underground root system and sends numerous shoots above ground in favourable conditions.

The most obvious above-ground parts are the bright green leaves, which are initially covered with fine hairs and later become velvety. 

It has small white flowers, which occur as dense clumps in the early spring. ENDS