Friday the 26th of June marks four years since the death of 21 young people at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenary Park in KuGompo City. The families are still struggling to find closure. An inquest to determine who should be held liable for the deaths of the young people was instituted and concluded last month. ‘E Cape Liquor Board must be held liable for Enyobeni tragedy’ The evidence leader in the inquest looking into the deaths of 21 young people at Enyobeni Tavern at Scenery
Park in KuGompo City argued for criminal charges to be instituted against the tavern owners, and that the Eastern Cape Liquor Board be held liable for the deaths of the teenagers. The inquest sitting in the Regional Court in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape heard closing arguments last month from the evidence leader, Advocate Luvuyo Vena and tavern owners, Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi Ndevu. The liquor board came under fire as Advocate Vena lambasted the board for failure to ensure the safety of patrons by licencing
the tavern despite non-compliance with structural, health and safety regulations. A senior inspector from the board has also been flagged for not knowing his job specifications, as he inspected a building at the tavern, an exercise argued to be outside the scope of his competency. Advocate Vena described the approval for the tavern to be licenced as an act of financial gain for the board instead of adhering to regulations. “The evidence that has been adduced that is before the court clearly points that the
Eastern Cape Liquor Board is to be blamed for the deaths of these 21 children. It shows that Mr & Mrs Ndevu, the owner and the tavern, or rather the owner and the manager of the Enyobeni establishment, ought also to be blamed for the deaths of these 21 children.” While forensic evidence presented indicated the use of pepper spray during that fateful night, the legal representative of a former employee, Thembisa Diko, argued that there is no evidence tying the commotion at the tavern
to the pepper spray being discharged by his client. Diko’s legal representative, Luntu Mdingi, says his client alerted the owners to the overcrowding and cannot be held liable for the outcome. “All these factors which contributed to that death here were not linked to the pepper spray, therefore Miss Diko ought to be exonerated as the accused for a possible suspect in this inquest in this matter.” Related video | Enyobeni case postponed to July 10 for ruling
Enyobeni Tavern, 21 deaths, Scenery Park, KuGompo City, Mdantsane, Eastern Cape Liquor Board, inquest, Advocate Luvuyo Vena, Siyakhangela Ndevu, Vuyokazi Ndevu, Thembisa Diko, Luntu Mdingi