So say the families of three teenagers from Joe Slovo in Langa who died after eating vetkoek and polony.
The families said they also want Smith to ask them for forgiveness.
For failing to express regret, the families were planning to sue him, they said.
Smith told the Cape Times he will not apologise as the information came from the police, but police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said the information from Smith’s statement never came from her office.
On Thursday last week, Smith told the Cape Times “the autopsies on the deceased will determine the cause of death, but at this stage the SAPS has indicated that it does not appear to be food poisoning and that it appears that the children mixed other substances into their food”.
Teenage friends Athule Makonzi, 15, Khanyisa Mtamzeli, 17, and Mzingisi Gobecimele, 17, died on Sunday, August 27, a few hours after consuming vetkoek and polony the previous night.
Athabile Simayile, the surviving teenager, told the Cape Times this week that he was hospitalised a few hours after eating a polony his friends had shared with him. He said he felt dizzy immediately after eating the polony, went home, vomited and collapsed.
He woke up in Somerset Hospital and was discharged four days later.
Athule’s sister Pamela Makonzi, Khanyisa’s mother Neziswa Mtamzeli and Mzingisi’s aunt Nomsa Gobicimele said they want Smith to rectify his comments that there was a possibility their loved ones died of drug use or mixed their food with other substances or face their lawyers in court.
“The family is not happy with what JP Smith wrote in his statement he sent to the media. The family wants a public apology from him or he must explain himself because people read what he said in the media and believed it.
“People now believe our children used drugs, which is not the case. They were not using drugs. Even our families in the Eastern Cape read what he said and it is not sitting well with them,” said Gobicimele.
She said it was strange that Smith had said the autopsy was concluded. “The police know nothing about a concluded post-mortem. Where did he get that information?” asked Gobicimele.
Khanyisa’s family member, Nosiphelele Msesiwe, said: “As for the statement made by Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith, that there is a possibility of drug overdose, the family is waiting for post-mortem results that were done on Thursday.
“We are disappointed by his false statement, but luckily one boy survived because he took a small bite of polony, not drugs, and luckily he is the one who came with information of what happened.” She said Smith should refrain from “spreading assumptions without even checking with the families of the deceased”.
Msesiwe said instead Smith should intervene in a “positive manner” by fast-tracking the post-mortem results.
“Police are telling us the post-mortem is outstanding and on the other hand he (Smith) is saying it is concluded. Which one is which? He is gambling with people’s lives,” said Makonzi.
Smith told the Cape Times he “cannot apologise for a statement that is not mine”.
“The apology will have to come from the South African Police Service or City of Cape Town environmental health.”
On Tuesday, through the City’s communication department, Smith repeated: “No apology is required.”
He said his statement “was supplied by the City’s Environmental Health Department, which they in turn obtained from the South African Police Service. “The response clearly stated that the toxicology report alone would indicate whether the food sold by the vendor, or other substances, had been responsible for the poisoning. This is still the case.”
Rwexana said her office “stands by our initial response that we await the post-mortem report and toxicology results”.
“Also note that the SAPS communicates via this office only. Whatever else was said somewhere else is not official.”
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