With pressure mounting, Tiger Brands has expressed sorrow over the 2018 listeriosis outbreak that claimed over 200 lives in South Africa. As the legal battle against the company heats up, the company finds itself at the centre of controversy, accused of delaying justice for the victims.
Speaking to Health For Mzansi, a Tiger Brands representative said, “We are saddened by the impact listeriosis has had and continues to have on the lives of the victims and those who have lost loved ones from the outbreak.
“We reiterate our commitment to ensure a resolution of the listeriosis class action lawsuit is reached in the shortest possible time, in the interest of all parties, particularly the victims of listeriosis.”
Tiger Brands
The source of the 2018 outbreak has been traced to Tiger Brands’ Polokwane facility.
As part of overall endeavours to expedite a resolution, Tiger Brands’ legal team and the plaintiffs’ attorneys have sought access to critical records from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) relevant to the listeriosis outbreak. “These records are vital to a determination of the class action,” the company says.
“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.”
Tiger Brands adds that its legal team and the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the class action continue to attend to pre-trial preparations to get the matter ready for trial, where liability will be determined by the court. “The court will allocate a trial date once all necessary pre-trial procedures have been attended to and the matter is ready to proceed to trial.”
Victims desperate for justice
According to Dr Peter Gerner-Smidt, an expert on foodborne outbreaks, the listeriosis investigation is a textbook example of how an outbreak investigation should be done. “The genetic matching leaves no doubt that Tiger Brands was the main, and likely the only, source of the outbreak.”
Children born with severe health complications due to listeriosis, including cerebral palsy and brain damage, are being forced to abandon their education due to mounting medical bills, and their families, still reeling from the trauma, are desperate for compensation.
Despite the mounting evidence, Tiger Brands, the company behind household staples like All Gold, Koo, and Jungle Oats, is accused of not taking action. According to Zeenat Emmamally, an attorney at RSI Attorneys, “Tiger Brands has had this evidence since the end of January 2024, and they have done absolutely nothing.”
Listeriosis is a foodborne illness caused by the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria and may result in long-term damage or death. Common symptoms include fever, chills, and headaches. Those most vulnerable to severe infection include pregnant individuals and people with weakened immune systems.
The aftermath of listeriosis has devastated the lives of many families. Children born with severe disabilities now require constant care, forcing parents to give up their jobs. Emmamally points out that many of these victims continue to suffer from seizures, developmental delays, and other debilitating conditions six years on.
Victims and families suffer
“We have children who to this day are unable to walk, unable to sit up unassisted, or eat solid foods. There are kids who still have seizures, which were spurred on by contracting listeriosis in utero. Six years on, they’ve just not gotten any monetary compensation from Tiger Brands,” says Emmamally.
Children like Theto Ngobeni, who contracted listeriosis in utero, have suffered neurological damage requiring multiple surgeries.
Theto’s mother, Montlha Ngobeni, shared the ongoing hardship: “The healing and recovery process is very painful. Very painful. I wouldn’t wish for anyone to experience this. No one. Not even my worst enemy. Not even Tiger Brands.”
Emily Lichakane, who was a devoted wife and mother, tragically lost her life to listeriosis just two days after giving birth to her second child.
Medical tests confirmed that Lichakane had contracted listeria monocytogenes, a deadly bacterium linked to the largest recorded outbreak of listeriosis in South Africa’s history.
Today, her husband, Segalo, is left to raise their two daughters on his own. “I don’t know whether I’m doing right or wrong,” he admits.
“Raising two daughters without a mother is difficult. I have lost someone who was special in my life; the future plans we had are gone… I’m not surviving without her.”
Segalo Lichakane
Veteran health activist Mark Heywood calls for private companies to be held accountable with the same rigour as the government when it comes to negligence.
“In the same way that family members held the government accountable for disasters like Life Esidimeni, where 144 people lost their lives because of negligence, we must also hold private companies fully accountable for an even greater loss of life in this case. Private companies are not above the law, just because these are largely poor people.”
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