Pupil who died from poisoning 'a high achiever'

The distraught mother of a 14-year-old pupil who died after 17 days in a coma due to poisoning has revealed how her daughter was looking forward to an overseas trip for netball trials.

Palesa Nomfundo Khumalo, a pupil at Pinnacle College Kyalami High School in Midrand, collapsed after netball practice on April 8.

Her mother Gugulethu Khumalo said before collapsing, her daughter had asked her: "Mama, do you think I have been poisoned? Mama, do you think I am going to die?”

Palesa, a grade 9 pupil, died on April 25.

Khumalo, 31, said her daughter was a high achiever who excelled both academically and in her favourite sport, netball.

Khumalo said the family wanted answers as to what happened to their daughter who was due to travel to Orlando in the US for netball trials in August.

Besides the netball trials, she and her peers would also visit the Kennedy Space Center, Statue of Liberty, Universal Studios and Empire State Building, among other places.

If she succeeded in the US trials, Palesa would have moved to the next round to be held in Switzerland in September.

She had been a pupil at the school since January.

“My daughter was getting good grades since she started school. I moved her from Hyde Park High to this school because it is the school that would keep her academic record while accommodating her netball love. She was looking forward to do well in August,” said Khumalo.

Speaking of the tragedy, Khumalo said her daughter had vomited while her system shut down.

She said Palesa was rushed to hospital where doctors told her that Palesa had ingested poison.

Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo on Wednesday said an inquest had been opened.

"Investigations are under way. We are waiting for the toxicology report that will confirm the exact course of death," he said.

Khumalo said she was still trying to make sense of what happened and was left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life.

“They [doctors] couldn’t find her vein or the heartbeat. She was then rushed to Charlotte Maxeke [Johannesburg Academic Hospital] and there, they [doctors] finally found the heartbeat but it was weak. She was then admitted and was in a coma.

“They told me that they have found poison in her blood and they couldn’t tell which one it is. They only told me that the poison has shut her nervous system hence they couldn’t find the heartbeat,” said Khumalo.

“The days she was still in hospital, I spent most of the time angry and asking myself who would want my kid dead. I was asking myself, 'how can my child eat poison from school, where she was meant to be protected?'

"No one from the police and the school checked on us and the allegations [surrounding her death]. The police only told me that they will go and investigate this week."

Khumalo said Palesa was looking forward to travelling. “Everything was going well for her, she was happy. She was looking forward to the trip, she was excited."

School principal John Pilkington said they were struggling to find substantial evidence of what happened.

“Our attention has been drawn to various allegations circulating on social media platforms concerning the circumstances surrounding her passing. We have been in contact with the department of education and the SAPS, but despite these efforts, we have been unable to get clarity or information regarding these social media claims.

"These allegations suggest involvement at our school, yet no substantiated evidence has been presented to corroborate these assertions. Considering these developments, we have proactively reached out to the bereaved family, extending a request for a meeting," Pilkington said.

He said the school was committed to full cooperation with any ongoing investigations.

"The safety and well-being of our students remain paramount, and we are steadfast in our dedication to maintaining a secure and supportive learning environment.”