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The officer who formed a task team to investigate the deaths of 21 young people at the Enyobeni tavern said he had made a recommendation to the Director of Public Prosecutions that the tavern owners, Vuyokazi and Siyakhangela Ndevu, along with their bouncer, Thembisa Diko, be charged with culpable homicide.
This was revealed in the Mdantsane Magistrates Court on Tuesday as the inquest into the tragedy at Scenery Park continues.
Brigadier Mxolisi Mqotyana said he had inspected the building and found that there were negligent violations, as the building did not had two accessible doors and had poor ventilation downstairs. This was before he found out that the structure had been changed without the approval of the Eastern Cape Liquor Board in 2020.
He further stated that the bouncer was negligent in using pepper spray in a congested room with hundreds of patrons and poor ventilation. The pepper spray was allegedly to control the patrons inside the overcrowded tavern.
Mqotyana said Diko had initially denied ever using pepper spray, despite patrons saying at some point in the night they had suffocated and ran towards the upper part of the building for air, as there were only two small windows downstairs.
On the observations he made on the CCTV footage, Mqotyana said he saw a patron tampering with the camera about 15 minutes before the first person fell at 02:15 am. He then shortly after observed men looting clothing and other items from the bodies of the deceased.
“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 death of the 21 victims.”
When the officer arrived on the scene in the early hours of 26 June 2022, he said he had found bodies littered in the double-storey tavern with foam coming out of the noses of the deceased bodies.
Aunt to one of the deceased, Ntombizonke Mngangala said she was not satisfied that pepper spray could cause the victims to foam out of the noses, no matter how congested the room had been.
“He confirmed that all the children had foam, and when you are talking about the physical injuries he could not say they were no injuries as they were other children who had jumped from the top floor to the ground. This means there are still gaps in terms of their investigation.”
On Monday when the inquest began, a police constable based in Scenery Park took the stand, and said they had never received a complaint about the tavern, despite community members holding meetings several months prior to the incident requesting the intervention of authorities.
The second witness was a 24-year-old lady, Esona Bobani, who said she had attempted to save a girl who she had found lying outside the tavern. She later found out from nurses when she transported her to the Empilweni Clinic that Kungentando Nzima was already deceased.
Meanwhile, Brigadier Mqotyana said at about 11 o’clock on the day of the incident they had assisted a lady of about 18-years old who was in need of urgent help.
“She had pains in her stomach and legs, she could hardly walk. We were rushing her to the hospital in an ambulance when the paramedic called and said she died on the way.”
The last day of the first leg of the inquest is on Wednesday, and over 30 witnesses are expected to give evidence.
