Enyobeni Tavern tragedy: Youth should be celebrated in June, not mourned – Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences for the 22 teenagers who died at the Enyobeni Tavern in East London on Sunday morning.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.

Enyobeni Tavern tragedy

Ramaphosa responds

Parliament said: “While the President awaits more information on the incident, his thoughts are with the families who have lost children”.

Ramaphosa also expressed concern regarding the circumstances which lead to the deaths, particularly that people under the age of 18 were at the venue.

“Young people were gathered at a venue which, on the face of it, should be off-limits to persons under the age of 18”, Parliament said in a statement.

A Youth Month tragedy

Furthermore, Ramaphosa said Youth Month should be a time to celebrate young people, to advocate for and advance opportunities.

Instead of creating “improved socio-economic conditions for the youth of our nation”, South Africa is mourning the loss of 22 teens.

He said investigations into the tragedy in East London should allow for the “law to take its course”.

ALSO WATCH: Inside Eastern Cape tavern before tragedy struck

Non-compliance of trading hours

Meanwhile, the National Liquor Traders expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and call on the police to “investigate fully the circumstances that led to this tragedy“.

“Whilst investigations continue, we are particularly concerned by initial reports indicating that the incident happened in the early hours of the morning”.

This includes the “potential non-compliance to permitted trading hours”. The association called for stricter enforcement of the liquor licensing regime.

Liquor regulation compliance

In addition, the National Liquor Traders said it would “be holding liquor traders to the highest standards of compliance in ensuring they provide safe spaces for patrons to socialise in”.

“We will continue to work with law enforcement, SAPS and provincial liquor boards to drive liquor regulation compliance across the liquor trading environment.

“We will not rest until we know the cause of this tragedy and we have confidence in our police to get to the bottom of what happened at the tavern.”