Two children died, and two other family members are in intensive care at Rundu State Hospital after an incident of suspected food poisoning.

According to Kavango West Regional Commander, Commissioner Julia Sakuwa-Neo, the incident occurred on Thursday, 1 May 2025, at Sarukwe village in Ncuncuni Constituency, Kavango West.

It is alleged that about six members of the same household, a husband, wife, and four children, ate pap, reportedly made from maize meal provided by the drought relief programme, served with fresh beans from their crop field.

After the meal, the family began complaining of stomach aches and were taken to Rundu State Hospital for treatment.

The deceased have been identified as 10-year-old Andreas Kasera and 15-year-old Joseph Kasera.

Both 13-year-old Andreas Chilemo and 48-year-old Andreas Kasera, the father, are in critical condition in the ICU.

The mother, Engelbertha Musongo, and their youngest daughter, Regina Kasera, have been discharged from the hospital.

Preliminary police investigations indicate that before the mother prepared the meal, the children removed the coarse grains from the maize meal by sieving.

They then soaked the coarse grains in water to soften them, placed them on a zinc plate to dry in the sun, and later pounded them into a fine powder, which they used to make pap.

Police say the fresh beans were cooked separately from the pap.

Sakuwa-Neo says investigations into sample collection from the victims' house are ongoing, and an inquest docket has been opened for the two deceased.