The woman was arrested on Friday following the death of three young men who are believed to have swallowed poison.

"It was reported on December 10, 2019, the three men aged 19, 25 and 27 shared some porridge in a shack and became very sick in the evening," Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said in a statement on Monday.

The elderly woman is a mother to one of the three deceased.

"After thorough investigation she confessed to the SAPS that she is the one who gave her own son food mixed with poison to eat.

"She did not anticipate that he would share it with his friends," Kinana explained.

According to police, reports suggest that her son was a drug addict who was allegedly abusive towards her for many years and "she could not take it anymore".

The woman is facing three counts of murder.

News24