Moroka Village residents in the North East District are convinced that one of their own, 52-year-old Power Moalosi died as a result of food poisoning.
The rumour mill has gotten so strong that during his burial over the weekend, the village elders and leadership minced no words in condemning the alleged heinous poisoning act that led to Power’s demise.
Speakers at the funeral were adamant that the deceased died from eating poisoned food. The alleged poisoning is said to have happened during the preparations for his late father’s funeral last November.
The callous act has not only left the villagers talking, fear has no doubt gripped the usually quiet village. The villagers are not hiding their fear. Questions abound on who is the likely next victim.
Parents are not leaving anything to chance as they sternly advise their children to be vigilant. The messages are so loud and clear that social places like bars and gatherings like funerals and weddings have become potential points of target.
The awful act of an innocent man losing his life has not escaped the attention of the village elders and the civic leadership.
They have joined in the chorus of the condemnation of the heinous acts.
Addressing the mourners’ at Power’s funeral, a visibly angry Kwenani ward Headman of Arbitration, Malan Maweni, condemned the callous acts.
“As a leadership, we cannot sit by and watch helplessly as innocent people are murdered for motives unknown to us. This has to come to a stop. It cannot be allowed. It has come to a stop,” said Maweni.
The village ward councilor, Edward Makhumalo, joined the fray. He also unequivocally condemned the alleged poisoning of Power.
He said although the villagers became aware of the rumour long before him, as a civic leader, they did not have the courtesy to inform him until he learnt of it late in the day. Immediately he became aware, he confronted Power to shed light on the allegations.
He said the deceased confirmed to him that in fact he had been poisoned during the preparations for his late father’s burial.
The councilor in the same vein has unequivocally condemned the act saying such things would it make it difficult for some people in the village to partake in festivities and social gatherings afraid that they may be the next on the firing line.
“Let’s all stand up to condemn this. You will never know. May be you are the next,” he warned.
If there is anything that sometime shows the enormity of the problem, it is no doubt the mourners’ attentive listening to the speakers.
Directing the funeral proceedings, Collen Mugibelo, a police officer and nephew of the deceased, warned that as much as people had their suspicions of what may have caused his uncle’s death, they should always be careful not to take the law into their own hands.
Echoing similar sentiments to other speakers, he alerted the mourners to the potential risk that the whistleblowers in the case had been exposed them to.
However, the funeral was attended by, among others, Northern Region Head of Criminal Investigations Department, Assistant Commissioner, Milton Mapange.
It could not be ascertained whether Mapange had attended the funeral in a personal capacity as a resident of Moroka or was on duty. It is also unclear as to whether he was accompanied by his subordinates at the funeral to quell any possible violence or disruptions if ever they occurred.
After the funeral, Kgosi Moroka said he was in the process of convening a kgotla meeting to address the issue given its gravity.
This is not the first time the village of Moroka has been rocked by a food poisoning death. In early 1991, the village was engulfed by another poisoning scandal following the death of Ben Ngozi.
