Victims of listeriosis are demanding justice
Six years after SA’s deadliest listeriosis outbreak, the families of the victims are still demanding justice, and accusing Tiger Brands of refusing to take responsibility.
Lawyers representing more than 1,000 victims said they have gathered enough evidence to take the matter to court.
The outbreak, declared over by the government in 2018 left a trail of pain and claimed more than 200 lives, and affected many more who allegedly ate contaminated products from the company which were traced to its Polokwane plant.
Speaking at a briefing in Johannesburg on Monday, senior attorney at Richard Spoor Inc, Thamsanqa Malusi, said despite clear evidence, Tiger Brands resorted to subpoena various labs to find alternate sources of contamination, which only stalled proceedings.
“It is morally egregious that Tiger Brands has employed every legal technicality to avoid taking responsibility,” said Malusi. However, the company has since denied this.
This after investigations spearheaded by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) revealed the exacting science behind the outbreak's source. The NICD used whole genome sequencing (WGS) to identify the listeria strain responsible for the epidemic.
Malusi said because of this they are confident for a trial due to the overwhelming evidence.
“To explain why we’re confident about Tiger Brands' liability: the NICD conducted microbiological testing, specifically whole genome sequencing, on all those who contracted listeria.
“This helped identify the genetic fingerprint of the listeria responsible for the outbreak, known as sequence type ST6. Over 90% of those infected tested positive for this specific strain, indicating a single source of the outbreak,” said Malusi.
He said the briefing served two purposes.
“First, it’s been six years since the health ministry declared the outbreak over, but the victims of Tiger Brands' reckless actions continue to suffer, with no end in sight. Second, new evidence has emerged through co-genome multilocus sequence typing (CGMLST), which further establishes Tiger Brands' responsibility for the outbreak," Malusi said.
According to reports by the NICD, the link was further solidified when children in Soweto tested positive for listeriosis after consuming bologna from Tiger Brands. Samples from the crèche, where children fell ill, showed that the contaminated bologna originated from Tiger Brands' facility.
Malusi said the NICD tested about 400 samples from the facility in February 2018, and they confirmed the presence of ST6. He said despite this evidence, Tiger Brands conducted its own tests and confirmed the contamination.
However, Malusi said the battle for justice extends beyond the courtroom and into the lives of the victims
One such victim is Montla Ngobeni who contracted listeriosis while pregnant.
Her daughter Thetho, now six years old, has undergone six operations to manage the brain damage caused by the infection.
"She was diagnosed with listeriosis when she was just 18 days old. They said the only way to help her was to insert the VP shunt [ventriculoperitoneal] in her brain because listeriosis had caused brain damage. She was having seizures and was epileptic. We’ve paid more than R400,000, and we even had to sell my beautiful house to cover the costs caused by listeriosis," she said.
Human rights lawyer Richard Spoor has emphasised the strength of the case against Tiger Brands.
"The case against the company responsible for these deaths and all the suffering is watertight. It’s perhaps the strongest case I’ve ever worked on," Spoor said.
He likened the evidence to genetic proof in criminal cases, describing it as "evidence beyond any reasonable doubt".
Tiger Brands communications director Werna Oberholzer said it was committed to speedy litigation in the interest of all parties involved, victims included.
“As part of the overall endeavours to expedite a resolution, Tiger Brands’ legal team and the plaintiffs’ attorneys jointly approached the NICD for access to their records relevant to the listeriosis outbreak. These records are vital to the determination of the class action.
“In February 2024, the NICD tendered the so-called FASTQ files relating to their investigation of the outbreak to the plaintiff’s attorneys in the class action. These FASTQ files were shared with the attorneys representing the company’s insurers for review by their appointed experts. The experts’ review of the files remains ongoing,” said Oberholzer.
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