The citizens of Hammanskraal, a small town north of South Africa’s capital, Tshwane, have been dealing with the deaths of 23 residents from cholera since 23 May 2023. Tests to find the source are continuing. The initial assumption by residents and authorities was that poor quality water led to the outbreak. In one week in May, 163 patients were admitted to the Jubilee Hospital with diarrhoea and vomiting.
In 2019 the South African Human Rights Commission confirmed what residents already knew. The samples the commission drew from Temba Water Treatment Works, Kekana Primary School, Refentse Clinic and Hammanskraal Secondary School revealed that the water was unfit for human consumption.
