Thembisa Diko, the bouncer at the Enyobeni tavern, and its owners, Vuyokazi and Siyakhangela Ndevu, should be charged with culpable homicide. This is according to the officer who established the task team to look into the deaths of 21 young people at the tavern. The tragedy happened in June 2022 at the Enyobeni tavern, a shebeen in East London, Eastern Cape.
Retired brigadier Mxolisi Mqotyana said this on Tuesday in the Mdantsane magistrate’s court during the ongoing inquest into the tragedy that occurred at Scenery Park.
Lack of accessible entrances
Mqotyana stated that after inspecting the establishment he discovered several infractions. These include a lack of two accessible entrances and inadequate ventilation on the lower level of the establishment. This was prior to him learning that the structure had been changed without the Eastern Cape Liquor Board’s approval.
He added that it was careless of the bouncer to use pepper spray in a packed room with hundreds of people and no ventilation. The tavern’s packed clients were allegedly controlled by the pepper spray. However, Diko originally denied using pepper spray, according to Mqotyana.
There were only two small windows downstairs. So guests said they had suffocated and fled to the upper section of the structure for oxygen.
“We had to open a separate case of theft. Five men were arrested, but we were able to ascertain that they were just opportunists who did not have a hand in the deaths of the 21 victims.”
Men seen stealing clothes from the dead
Mqotyana claimed to have observed someone tampering with the camera on the CCTV footage. This happened for approximately 15 minutes before the first person fell at 02:15 am.
Shortly after, he saw men stealing clothes and other belongings from the dead. When the officer arrived on the scene in the early hours of June 26 2022, he said he had found bodies lying all over.
They were littered in the double-storey tavern with foam coming out of the noses of the deceased. On the day of the event, at approximately 11pm, according to Mqotyana, they had helped a woman who was in distress. She appeared to be about 18 years old, and was in need of immediate medical assistance.
“She was barely able to walk and was experiencing stomach and leg agony. The paramedic called to say she had passed away while we were racing her to hospital in an ambulance.”
When the inquiry started on Monday, a Scenery Park-based police constable testified. He claimed that community members conducted meetings months before the tragedy.
They requested the intervention and involvement of authorities. However, they had never had a complaint about the tavern.
More than 30 witnesses are expected to testify on the matter.
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