Parents of the 21 teenagers who died at Enyobeni tavern are still waiting for the cause of death. Image via Twitter @blessingsramoba
‘Gov made promises’: Parents of kids who died at Enyobeni want answers
The parents of the 21 ternagers who died at Enyobeni Tavern say they were told a toxicology report would be available in two weeks.
Parents of the 21 teenagers who died at Enyobeni tavern are still waiting for the cause of death. Image via Twitter @blessingsramoba
Parents of the 21 teenagers who mysteriously died at Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London, are still waiting to know what the cause of death is.
On 26 June, children aged between 13 and 18 collapsed and died at the drinking establishment and their parents told Drum Magazine that the police have not been communicating with them.
PARENTS WANT ANSWERS FROM GOVERNMENT
Xolile Malangeni, who is the father of 17-year-old Esinakho Sanarhana who died in the tragedy, says they are still waiting for the government to tell them what happened that morning.
“Government made promises about getting us to the bottom of what happened, but now it is just silent. The police are not communicating anything with us, we are just hearing things in the news,” he was quoted by the outlet as saying.
According to the grieving father, they were told that the toxicology report would be available in two weeks.
“We were told the toxicology report would be available in two weeks, but now still nothing. We cannot even lodge claims because we do not have valid death certificates. We are seeing theories on social media but the people who should be giving us answers aren’t,” Malangeni said.
Another parent, Noluthando Nkani — whose daughter Inathi, 18, also died — echoes Malangeni’s sentiments.
“It is good to see that something is being done, but what we really want to know is what killed our children. The death certificates say ‘under investigation’ so we just want to know what killed them,” she said.
ALSO READ: Mom of Enyobeni victim speaks out: ‘We did not send our kids to the tavern’
ENYOBENI OWNER CHARGED
Since the tragedy, the owner of the tavern, Siyakhangela Ndevu, had been charged for allegedly violating or contravention the Eastern Cape Liquor Act by allowing the sale or distribution of alcohol to persons under the age of 18. In addition, two of his employees have been fined R2 000 each.
However, Malangeni believes that this is not enough.
“What is a R2 000 for what happened? This should be deterrent to other tavern owners not to do the same but if staff are simply fined R2 000, then that will not stop them. R2 000 is not even a drop in the ocean of how much the tavern makes in a day,” he said.
BOUNCER SAYS THEY NEVER CHECKED KIDS’ ID.
A female bouncer that was on duty on the night of the tragic events at Enyobeni Tavern said they determine a customer’s age by looking at their face.
During an interview with Checkpoint, Thembisa Diko said she abandoned her station and headed upstairs when she realised the venue was getting excessively overcrowded.
“What were we supposed to do with an uncontrollable crowd? We are not lions to handle so many children [that] get in. We felt it would be better to leave them than assault or hurt them.
“I was not willing to sacrifice my life and be squashed by children. I had to [fail] because I had no other choice,” Diko said.
ALSO READ: Enyobeni bouncer: ‘We don’t check ID. We judge age by their faces’
