Parents hope for answers as inquest into deaths of 21 young people at an East London tavern is set to begin

30 Aug 2023

More than 30 witnesses, including experts and eyewitnesses, are expected to give evidence as the State tries to find out what led to the deaths of 21 young people at Enyobeni Tavern in June 2022.

An inquest to determine who is legally responsible for the deaths of 21 young people at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London, on 26 June 2022 is set to begin on Thursday, 30 August, at the East London Regional Court.

This comes after the State wrapped up its case against the tavern owners, Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi Ndevu, at the same court last week. The couple are on trial for selling liquor to underage children, but they do not face charges in relation to the deaths.

The Ndevus still maintain their innocence and are adamant that they did not sell alcohol to any underage children.

“I never sold alcohol to underage kids,” Siyakhangela has said. “I never allowed minors to come into my place and those kids arrived there in minibus taxis around 1am.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: The tragic story of the Enyobeni 21 – no consequences, clarity, action or change

SAPS detective Captain Gerhard Swart was the last witness to be led by the State’s senior prosecutor, advocate Tango Pangalele, during the trial. On the day he gave evidence, the court also had an opportunity to watch the CCTV footage from the tavern on the night the children died.

A neighbour of the Ndevu couple and eyewitnesses also testified.

The couple will return to court on 24 and 25 October, when the defence will present its case.

The inquest

The 21 children, aged between 13 and 17, died at the tavern while attending a “pens down” party to celebrate the end of the June exams.

Khululekile Ncandana, the father of Bhongolethu Ncandana, who died at the tavern, said: “We want answers, we want to know what happened to our children on that day. I hope this inquest will not fail us as parents, because it has been too long waiting for justice.”

A postmortem report shared with parents said the victims had injuries associated with being crushed and suffocated, but the results of a final toxicology report have not been made public.

A preliminary report had found that the victims had methanol, a type of alcohol potentially deadly to humans, in their blood. Methanol is sometimes found in counterfeit alcohol and home-brewed alcohol that has not been adequately monitored.

Follow-up tests were reportedly performed to determine whether the methanol concentrations were fatal, but the results have not been released. The police have said they cannot divulge details of the follow-up tests or even whether they’ve received the results, while investigations continue.

In July, the Enyobeni parents staged a picket at the Woodbrook forensic offices in East London demanding the full autopsy report.

Read more in Daily Maverick: One year later, parents demand full autopsy reports for Enyobeni Tavern victims

Police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana previously said that the Department of Health had finalised the postmortem results for the deceased and that these had been handed to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

NPA regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali confirmed that the inquest would seek to determine the causes of death.

“The Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, decided that an inquest be held by a regional court magistrate to establish if anyone can be held criminally liable, by commission or omission, for the deaths,” he said.

“At this moment, it is unclear what caused the incident, and hence, the State declined to prosecute,” added Tyali.

Parents and members of the community indicated that they looked forward to the inquest and hoped that many of their questions would be answered.

More than 30 witnesses, including experts and eyewitnesses, are expected to give evidence. DM

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The inquest