Enyobeni Families Still Waiting for Justice

It’s been four years since 21 teenagers died at Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, KuGompo City. For the families, the pain has not faded, and neither has the wait for answers.

Friday 26 June, marked four years since the tragedy that shocked South Africa. It forced difficult questions about underage drinking, overcrowding, and whether liquor laws are actually enforced.

The inquest wrapped up last month in the Mdantsane Regional Court. Now everyone is waiting for judgment. In closing arguments, evidence leader Advocate Luvuyo Vena didn’t hold back. He insisted on criminal charges against tavern owners Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi Ndevu. He also said the Eastern Cape Liquor Board should be held responsible.

“The evidence clearly shows that the Eastern Cape Liquor Board is to be blamed for the deaths of these 21 children. Mr and Mrs Ndevu also ought to be blamed,” Vena told the court.

Vena argued the board gave Enyobeni a licence even though it didn’t meet structural health and safety rules. He also said a senior inspector stepped outside his job by checking the building’s structure. To him it looked like profit came before safety.

“The decision to grant the tavern a liquor licence was driven by financial gain rather than compliance,” he said.

The court also heard forensic evidence that pepper spray was used inside the tavern that night. But Thembisa Diko’s lawyer, Luntu Mdingi, says his client can’t be linked to the deaths. Mdingi told the court Diko had warned the owners about overcrowding before the incident.

“All these factors were not linked to the pepper spray, therefore Miss Diko ought to be exonerated,” he said.

For parents like Boniswa Rangile, closure still feels far away. “I really don’t think it will make any difference, I won’t lie. I would only hope that the inquest gives us solutions so that there can be people who are held accountable,” she said.

Khululekile Ncandana said the families will accept whatever the court decides.”We are placing our hope on that judgment. The chairperson is there to determine if there is anyone who should be held liable,” he said.

The Enyobeni deaths remain one of South Africa’s worst tragedies at a licensed venue. Four years on, families say they just want accountability, and to make sure it never happens again.