Enyobeni Tavern manager accuses court of fabricating evidence

The Enyobeni Tavern inquest was filled with drama last week as Siyakhangela Ndevu, the manager of the tavern and husband to the owner, accused the court of fabricating evidence. “It is a concern to me that witnesses keep coming in, witnesses who were not on the list of those we were informed would testify at the beginning – for instance Zingce’s statement was taken now in April, which makes me conclude that the court is fabricating the evidence,” he said.

His statement follows the testimony of a witness, Zingce Sanarhana (21) who recalled how she tried to resuscitate her cousin, Esinako Sanarhana, who died on that fateful Saturday night in the East London tavern in June 2022. The purpose of the inquest is to determine who should be held accountable for her death and the deaths of 20 other young people, including a 13-year-old.

Ndevu claimed the witness was informed by what other witnesses have already testified. However, the magistrate, Mvuselelo Malindi explained that all statements can be entered into the record. “Mr Ndevu, we are on a fact-finding mission, the statement you are referring to was taken for a reason; it could be that the witness was not available at the time and there is nothing wrong in that,” he explained.

National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, at the beginning of the investigation said, “The inquest has more than 30 witnesses including experts and eyewitnesses, who are expected to give evidence. However, more witnesses may be called to testify as it unfolds,” said Tyali.

Sanarhana described to court attempts to save her cousin from dying. “I left my friends upstairs to go relieve myself but I got stuck in the stairs as it was packed and people were pushing. There was a heat making it difficult to breath; eventually I made it outside of the tavern. [Looking in] from outside, I saw children falling and fainting. Others were on top of the table unconscious,” she said

Sanarhana said she went back to look for her cousin Esinako. “When I went back inside, up the stairs with the driver of our car and his friend, I saw Nathi; she was lying on the floor but when I looked further I saw my cousin Esi – she was also unconscious. I ran to her and turned her over; I examined her – she was not breathing,” she testified. “I placed my ear on her chest, she had no heartbeat. When I opened her mouth to perform a CPR, her tongue had turned purple.”

Ndevu denies responsibility

The use of pepper spray in a confined environment and the resulting stampede of patrons have been revealed to be factors contributing to the deaths of at least two patrons. Oyena Ngoloyi and Azizipho Zilindile died due to delay in calling for medical help, according to a post-mortem report read out by the attorney representing the 21 bereaved families, Vuyisile Magqabi. Ngoloyi was found to have swelling of the brain and bleeding into the stomach and heart.

Still, the owner, Vuyokazi Ndevu maintained her innocence. “I put it to you that as the owner of the tavern, you failed to take adequate steps or measures to ensure that there was no overcrowding, do you dispute that?” asked Magqabi in his cross-examination. “Your failure to ensure that people employed were trained to deal with such situations contributed to the tragedy, do you dispute that?”

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

It was revealed in the inquest last year that the owner of the tavern had no special permit from the Eastern Cape Liquor Board to hold an event, which would have seen the board inspecting the structure of the tavern before the event, verifying the number of people that could be accommodated and also checking security measures.

Despite failing to apply for this permit, Ndevu said she does not know who should be held accountable for the tragedy. “The structure was illegal, and as the owner you failed to see to it that those injured were attended to. You said that there were first aid kits but none of that was used, do you dispute that?” Magqabi challenged.

Ndevu replied that overcrowding made it impossible for the employees to assist. “I dispute that, because I don’t think they would have been able to assist them as there were too many [patrons] and they were pushing,” she responded.

“There was frequent reference to a door being closed: have you learnt the reasons? You heard from evidence that people were desperate to go outside: have you learnt as to why the door was closed?” Magqabi continued.

Earlier, evidence leader Advocate Luvuyo Vena accused Ndevu of being profit-driven instead of ensuring the safety of her establishment. The Ndevus had not disputed the testimony by DJ Cish that they had made a profit on the occasion of the tragedy, unlike a previous event, Vena pointed out.

Vena slammed Ndevu for failing to reach out to the bereaved families after the tragedy. “As Africans we have ubuntu. We offer our condolences when someone has lost a loved one – have you reached out to those families whose children died in your tavern? Your actions by not doing so were inhuman,” said Vena.

Ndevu said she did not know whose responsibility the safety of the patrons was.