5 die, 40 hospitalised after eating Waakye from popular joint at Oyibi

The tragic incident occurred on Friday, January 20, 2023, leaving residents of the area in shock and fear at the same time.

The waakye seller, popularly known as Yellow Sisi, and some of her family members who ate the food too were hospitalized after having severe stomach aches.

A pregnant woman and a lotto vendor are some of the people who died after eating the popular Waakye.

The incident was so bad that the Valley View Hospital, the nearest health facility was reportedly overwhelmed by the number of people who were rushed to the center for treatment and it had to turn away some of the patients to seek help at other hospitals.

It remains unclear what led to the poisoning.

Dr Esther Danquah of the Kpone Katamanso District Hospital confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic, adding more investigation was ongoing to unravel further details.

“As at now, some other people are still visiting the hospital and, therefore, until all the necessary laboratory tests are complete, we cannot give specific data on the number of people who have been affected or whether it was indeed a case of food poisoning,” she said.

A widow of one of the deceased men narrated that her husband died on Monday, January 23 at the St John’s Hospital at Amrahia, after complaining of stomach ache and diarrhoea.

“He started complaining that Friday that he was not feeling well, but we thought it was a normal thing. It was later when it became severe that we rushed him to the hospital but he did not survive,” the sad widow recounted.

The Yellow Sisi Waakye joint has been closed down while both the Oyibi Police and the Food and Drugs Authority have launched investigations into the incident.