Three men arrested in connection with stealing from the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy victims will appear before the East London magistrate’s court on Tuesday for bail arrangements after their case was postponed at the 11th hour on Monday.
The trio, accused of theft, possession of suspected stolen property and defeating the ends of justice, appeared briefly on Monday afternoon while a 16-year-old, facing the same charges, appeared separately.
They are accused of stealing items including shoes, clothes, a watch and weaves, allegedly from the dead victims at Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park last month during the incident that made international news.
The media was not allowed inside the courtroom when the men appeared.
Speaking on the sidelines with the media, police spokesperson Brig Tembinkosi Kinana said the three men would be in court for the arrangement of bail.
“We are not ready to talk about the details of the investigation at this stage. You will appreciate the fact that the reason we are in court, the suspects are expected to talk about all the evidence that we are expecting as the police during proceedings.
“Since the investigation is ongoing, we can expect more arrests could be made, but at this stage there is no indication that any other arrest will be made,” Kinana said.
He said the department of justice would make a determination in terms of the seriousness of the charges levelled against the men.
Kinana would not be drawn to comment about the allegations that the suspects had been spotted on CCTV footage stealing the items.
“At this point I can’t say they were spotted from the CCTV, but we do have evidence that links them to the stealing of items that were mentioned.”
The men were arrested on Thursday and Friday in their homes.
Kinana said their arrests were a sequel to the investigation which started immediately after the reported deaths of 21 children in the tavern.
“The cause of deaths is yet to be established after the final results are made available from the forensic laboratory.
“As part of the ongoing investigation by crime intelligence, SAPS detectives followed up on information which prompted the arrest of the suspects believed to have been involved in stealing from the deceased’s bodies.”
Kinana said the 16-year-old had been handed over in the custody of his parents in terms of the Child Justice Act, which stipulates that an underage child may not be detained in police cells.
He said some of the stolen items had been positively identified by families while others were yet to be identified.
“They were recovered in the homes of the suspects. The arrested suspects are not linked to the death of the 21 children, as there is no evidence to suggest their involvement at this stage.
“The investigation into establishing the cause of death is still under way. At the right time, the affected families will be informed.”
The teen will appear again in court on August 30.
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