‘It wasn’t my intention for this to happen’: Enyobeni tavern owner

The owner of the Enyobeni tavern in the Eastern Cape has appealed for calm and patience, as police investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths of at least 21 young people.

Enyobeni tragedy

The youngsters, nine girls and 12 boys, tragically lost their lives in the early hours of Sunday morning at the East London tavern in Scenery Park.

It’s understood that the teenagers’ bodies were found on the floor and on tables at the outlet, with the youngest of the victims being 13 years old. The cause of the deaths remain unknown and police are investigating.

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The owner of the establishment, Siyakhangela Ngevu, has apologised for the incident and called for calm from the public as investigations continued.

“I sympathise with the people who have lost their loved ones. It wasn’t my intention for this to happen.

“I request that we calm down and let the police do their job and take it from there because, right now, there’s nothing we can do,” Ngevu told eNCA in an interview on Sunday.

‘People were entering the gate by force’

Ngevu claims he was not present when the teenagers were found dead. He said he received a call from security guards around 1 am on Sunday, informing him about the chaos at his tavern.

“I received a call that people were entering the gate by force and the situation was out of control.

“I rushed back here and when I arrived, I found that people were getting into the tavern by force and security was struggling to handle the situation,” he said.

According to the tavern owner, most of the youngsters who arrived at his outlet came from various “pens down” parties in the area to mark the end of their June examinations.

“These are kids who came from their pens down parties and they arrived here around 12 am and that’s when the chaos started.”

Police said on Sunday morning, at about 4 am, they received a report of the lifeless bodies of the teenagers at a local tavern in the area.

Upon arrival, they found seventeen bodies inside the bar. It was later established that two more died at a local clinic, one died en route to the hospital, and another died in hospital.

Tavern owner to face criminal charges

Meanwhile, the Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB) said it would lay criminal charges against Ngevu.

ECLB chief executive officer Dr Nombuyiselo Makala said they would also revoke the outlet’s liquor license for “the blatant contravention of the Eastern Cape Liquor Act that clearly stipulates that no alcohol shall be sold to persons under the age of 18.”

“The board condemns this repugnant incident with the strongest possible terms. As the Board, we have always been forthright in our condemnation and fight against the sale of alcohol to the underage.

“We have also consistently taken every necessary step against any liquor outlet that is found to have sold alcohol to the underage,” Makala said in a statement.

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel

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