Footage from Enyobeni security cameras show panic and tragedy unfold

Video clips from the night of the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy have been screened in court, showing scenes of patrons coughing, choking, and covering their noses and mouths. Some patrons were pushing and shoving each other in an attempt to escape from what seemed to be suffocating them. The inquest in the Mdantsane Regional Court is adjourned until 22 April 2025 and is to continue with viewing video footage.

Four more eyewitnesses and a paramedic who was first on the scene are expected to testify when the inquest probing the deaths of 21 young people at Enyobeni Tavern resumes. Previously some witnesses told the inquest about a gas-like smell that made it difficult for them to breath.

At least five angles obtained from the CCTV footage were screened. One angle showed young men escaping by jumping from the edge of the balcony down to a lower level, while others were stuck waving their hands in what seemed to be an attempt to call for help from people at a lower level.

Family members of the 21 young people who lost their lives in the Scenery Park tavern three years ago. Archive photo by Chwayita Dinginto

For the first time since the beginning of the inquest, the parents of the victims got to see what took place in the tavern that night. “We understand that the court is trying to help us understand what had happened but it is not easy to watch the video as some of us are starting to heal; it is now taking us back,” said one parent.

Speaking on the side-lines of the court, parents said the video was traumatising to watch. Ntombizonke Mgangala, an aunt of the late Sinothando, said she hoped it would shed light. “The footage hopefully will shed some light and It will assist a lot because there are witnesses who can be able to say this is what was happening instead of us thinking that they are smelling something,“ said Mgangala.

Four young people were present in court to watch the footage and they are expected to reflect on what is happening in the video.

Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park where 21 teenagers died on 26 June 2022. Archive photo by Chwayita Dinginto

Though the manager of the tavern, Siyakhangela Ndevu told the inquest on Monday that he left the tavern around 21:00, he could be seen in the footage behind the counter selling alcohol from 23:00 until after midnight. He had earlier this month accused the court of fabricating evidence as he felt that witnesses were being added unfairly to the list.

On Friday, more footage was played showing the exterior of the tavern from the early hours of Sunday, 26 June. The venue was still packed, with patrons moving in and out, while others spilled into neighbouring yards. The entrance and exit points were not visible, and patrons had evidently closed off the street.

Evidence leader, Advocate Luvuyo Vena said the footage substantiates the complaints of neighbours who spoke of “excessive noise, patron nuisance, and the mess left behind after tavern parties.” He also highlighted multiple violations of the tavern’s operating licence, including the lack of crowd control and the failure to observe the 2 a.m. closing time.

A different angle of the footage from the time after 02h:00, showed at least five bodies lying on the floor unconscious or dead, with one trampled by patrons trying to escape. Another body is carried out to the VIP area by patrons who seem in distress.

As the footage continues, chaos unfolds and some patrons are shown gaining access to the VIP area, which was locked, as one young man breaks the sliding door with a bottle of alcohol, and others who seem out of breath and exhausted, enter the room and lay on the couches for minutes. These patrons hold their heads in their hands, while another throws a bottle of alcohol against the wall.

Ndevu and the employees do not appear by this point in this footage and at this point, no aid is provided to the patrons by staff.

At 03h06, paramedics arrived. In the footage, a paramedic is seen trying to resuscitate one person, however unsuccessfully.

Only at 03:17 does an employee of the tavern, bouncer Thembisa Diko, appear in the footage, in distress and crying. She offered the patrons no assistance.

By 04:00, more ambulances and other vehicles are seen arriving to pick up shocked patrons, with one unconscious youth carried to a waiting Avanza.