Bloem mother loses two children and unborn grandchild after they allegedly ate ‘poisoned meat’

They had been so happy. Just a few days ago, her daughter had been excited about getting a job in a new spaza shop and was also getting ready to welcome a new baby.

Her teen daughter was also full of future plans.

Now mom Kedietse Noni Shale will never get to see her kids live out their dreams, after Dikeledi (21) and Refilwe Shale (19) died after eating meat the family believes was poisoned.

The devastated mom is in mourning inside her small corrugated-iron shack in Dinaweng, Bloemfontein.
Kedietse is heartbroken and keeps replaying the events of that day in her head.

“Only God knows why this happened,” she tells DRUM.

It’s been a week since the tragedy.

Last Wednesday, Dikeledi, who was seven months pregnant, had a meeting with a man who promised her a job at his new spaza shop.“She went out to meet this man then came back to share the news that she would be working at the spaza shop that will be opening soon, selling food,” Kedietse says.

“I don’t know the gentleman, but we were all excited for her. We questioned why this person would open a shop when there is already a shop in our yard. But we did not make an issue of it, we were just happy that she would be getting work.”

According to Kedietse, the man gave Dikeledi a lunchbox with meat so she could sample the food they would be selling.

“But when she came back home, she put this food away because they had already made supper.“

My grandson and I did not eat the food [that night] because earlier I have made potato chips. So after eating the chips we went to sleep.”Dikeledi warmed the food the next morning.“She warmed the food in the microwave and gave it to us to eat,” she says.

A few minutes later everyone started feeling sick.

“I remember it was a few minutes after watching Emzini Wezinsizwa on TV that Dikeledi started complaining about feeling hot. She tried to cool down by drinking water, but her mouth started to froth at the corners,” Kedietse tells us.

“She said she was feeling nauseous and started vomiting and threw herself on the couch. Then suddenly she could not talk anymore.”

Kedietse phoned an ambulance.

“They told me to wait for the police to arrive first before they could come. So, I watched Dikeledi taking her last breath. She died in my arms and there was nothing I could do.”

Kedietse covered her daughter’s body with a blanket while trying to assist Refilwe who also complained about feeling hot and stomach cramps.

“I quickly phoned a close family friend to come and help while trying to assist Refilwe,” the distraught mom says.The family friend, who asked to remain anonymous, arrived on the scene and found Refilwe in pain.

“One of the girls was still alive when I arrived and the mom had her in her arms. She looked weak and in pain. But before we could take her to the hospital, she also died on the scene. We watched those kids die like cockroaches,” she says.

Luckily, Kedietse’s three-year-old grandson did not touch the meat. He watched his mom, Dikeledi, and aunt, Refilwe, die on the kitchen floor.A few minutes after watching her children die, Kedietse also got sick.

“I started feeling weak and slightly dizzy,” she says. “When my friend heard I also ate the meat, she rushed me to Pelonomi Hospital.”

She was given activated charcoal at the hospital to help absorb the poison. Dikeledi and Refilwe had a lot of potential, the family tells us.

“Dikeledi has been through a lot. She got into drugs at a young age then fell pregnant. Then she got raped. I came into their lives because of their mother and to help Dikeledi fix her life. She was doing so well until this happened,” the family friend shares.

“For her to die with her unborn child is even worse. I hope the police can help to find the person who poisoned them.”

The sisters were buried in Bloemfontein on Friday 17 July.

Speaking to Drum, Kagisanong police station spokesperson, Brigadier Motantsi Makhele confirmed that the a case was opened at the station.

“We can confirm that an Inquest docket was opened at Kagisanong Police Station on Thursday 9 July 2020 the police were called to attend a scene at Caleb Motshabi. On arrival they found two lifeless bodies of African females aged 20 and 21 years old in the house. The mother of the two deceased was already taken to Pelonomi Hospital. It is suspected that the three consumed poisonous food. It is alleged that an unknown African female gave them the food the previous night, but they only ate it the following morning.

The mother is still admitted at Pelonomi Hospital. No arrest was made as the investigation is continuing.”