The East London Magistrate’s Court has once again postponed the Enyobeni tavern trial to July 19 and 20, 2023.
This after the court heard evidence from two witnesses on Wednesday.
One of the witnesses, 24-year-old Nalo Mtizana, said while they were upstairs they were told that people were falling like flies downstairs at the establishment, and an order to switch off the music was given.
“We tried making our way downstairs and we saw that most of the children were laying down. As soon as we saw that we were shocked and quickly ran back. A bouncer came to us and said we can get out but we panicked because some of our friends were there,” Mtizana testified.
State witness Nontsikelelo Nokhele from Eastern Cape Liquor Board said it is not allowed to sell alcohol to a person under the age of 18.
“As an owner of a tavern, before you sell alcohol to people, you have to demand that they produce their identity document [ID] and if they insist that they are old without producing an ID, you are supposed to chase them away and not sell them alcohol if you are not certain of their age,” said Nokhele.
The owners of the establishment, who are the prime suspects in the case – Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi Ndevu, pleaded not guilty to the charge of contravening the Liquor Act by selling alcohol to underaged patrons.
The case is following up on the tragic deaths of 21 teenagers (aged between 13 and 17 years) at the tavern in June 2022. The teenagers collapsed and died while inside the tavern.
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