Testimonies at Enyobeni inquest trigger families

The families of Enyobeni victims are pleading for psychological support as the inquest into the deaths of their children continues. Speaking outside the Mdantsane court on Friday, Ntombizonke Mgangala, aunt to the late Sinothando, said the testimonies have evoked emotions.

Mgangala said listening to those witnesses was becoming too much. “First of all I feel emotionally drained and physically sick, because each and every day you have to think of what is to happen in court, especially with the factual part of it, where they would touch the cause of deaths and bring pictures. It was for the first time seeing those pictures. Remember, we don’t know each other and who is who so we had to go through all those pictures to identify the deceased so our lawyer may relate to them.

“Sometimes we had to ask other parents who are not here to identify their children, so they are devastated wherever they are,” said the emotional Mgangala. She and other parents don’t feel ready and fit enough to attend the proceedings. She said since the incident occurred they had no more than two psychotherapy sessions. “In our situation you cannot have one or two counselling session. So we still need more, we still need more people who can assist. Fortunately, we have organised ourselves so people could be able to reach us. I think we need to be prepared before we come here so other parents can come too,” she said.

Mgangala said this following the adjournment of proceedings on Wednesday during the testimony of a survivor, Siphiwe Tshabalala, whose graphic account of events caused family members distress and necessitated the intervention of a social worker.

Enyobeni owners, Vuyokazi and Siyakhangela Ndevu during the Enyobeni Inquest that is sitting at Mdantsane Court.

Tshabalala described to the court on Wednesday how the bodies of the deceased young people were moved and man-handled by the tavern employees from downstairs to the upper level of the establishment.

Siphiwe was the seventh witness to take the stand at the inquest. Unlike previous witnesses who said they were there for the DJ’s birthday party, Tshabalala said she and three friends , Inathi, Sinalo Mtizana and Thuso Ngaliphi, were at the tavern for a ‘pens down’ celebration. She described how packed the tavern was and how she watched patrons struggling to breathe. She said there was no ventilation at the tavern as one employee attempted to redirect people who were stuck on the stairs. “One of the employees said those who were coming from upstairs must move backwards because people were dying downstairs. I went back and told Thuso, however, I was in denial that people were dying,” she said.

Her friend, Sinalo came from downstairs and confirmed the worst. “I saw Sinalo coming and she grabbed my wig, I could see she was crying and breathing heavily. I asked her what was happening. She said people were dying. At the time music was turned down and most people were coming to the upper level.”

Tshabalala said employees at the tavern carried people who were unconscious from downstairs to where the DJ was playing upstairs. She said they were dumped on the ground. “I was in denial that they died, I thought they passed out but I could see that they were young children,” she said. She recalled the employees tried to ventilate the room for others who got up.

When they went down the stairs they found one of her friends, Inathi, lying on the ground unconscious. She said her friends immediately realised that Inathi was dead. “Thuso and Sinalo were crying and screaming that Inathi is dead, but I said she is still alive because her eyes were still blinking; her lip had a small cut and her jacket had blood,” she recalled. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they confirmed to them that Inathi was indeed dead.

The Department of Basic Education has urged all youth to choose to say no to ‘pens down’ celebrations.

During her cross examination, the attorney of the families, Vuyisile Magqabi asked Tshabalala to relate what injuries appeared to be on Inathi’s face. Magqabi told the witness that the cause of Inathi’s death was a brain injury. “I can put it to you as a fact that according to the autopsy report, her cause of death is cerebral edema. In simple terms, it is the swelling of the brain due to injury caused by falling off a building or being stumbled on, would you agree with me?” he asked.

The court was adjourned as Tshabalala was too emotional to proceed.