The parents of the victims of the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy have given the authorities until Friday to tell them what killed their children in Scenery Park on June 26, after repeated failed promises they would be given answers.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane made a pronouncement on August 4 that the final toxicology results had been received from a Cape Town laboratory.
The results, according to Mabuyane, arrived on August 3, the day the families wrote to Eastern Cape authorities demanding time frames on the final toxicology results.
This was the third time parents had been promised closure, with the first being at the mass funeral and the second ahead of a meeting with police minister Bheki Cele and the premier on July 19, where instead they heard of preliminary results, including the investigation into methanol poisoning as a new possibility.
Ahead of the mass funeral, Cele had hinted that a “medical expert” would be revealing the cause of death, and, during the service, transport & community safety MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe told mourners that a pathologist would give the final test results.
But more delays ensued.
On Friday, families said they had been visited by police, who told them to wait as the results were still not concluded.
Some of the families met in Scenery Park on Tuesday to discuss what they called “dissatisfaction” with the way the government had handled the matter.
The families said they had written to the offices of the premier, health MEC and Buffalo City’s mayor on August 3 and given them until August 8 to provide the final toxicology results.
“We gave them until August 8 because we had a scheduled meeting of parents on August 9,” said Xolile Malangeni, whose daughter Esinako, 17, died in the tragedy.
“No response has been received from all the offices by our deadline.
“We have written to them once more, giving them until Friday to tell us what led to the death of our children.
“It is not an ultimatum and we are not threatening them.
“All we are pleading for is to be respected in this process”
The father of 18-year-old Bhongolwethu Ncandana, Khululekile Ncandana, said they had decided to form a task team to look after their interests in the matter.
“We have heard the premier saying all the final results have been received,” Ncandana said.
“What surprised us after the pronouncement by the premier on Thursday, we were visited by police on Friday who told us no final results had been received.”
Ntombizonke Mgangala, an aunt of Sinothando Mgangala, 17, said: “We are not happy about the way this matter has been handled. As parents of the children, we feel we are being taken for a ride.
“It’s like we are treated as toys.
“We earlier pledged support for the government over its handling of this matter.
“We pinned our hopes on the government over this because they seemed trustworthy at the beginning, but what they are doing to us is really unfair.
“Enough is enough of being taken for a ride.
“It seems the government does not feel the pain we have over the loss of our children.
“All we need is closure. The only closure we need is for the death certificates to change from ‘under investigation’ to the real cause of death.
“And they have been telling us about methanol as if all of us know what methanol is.”
Provincial government spokesperson Khuselwa Rantjie referred DispatchLIVE to the provincial health department.
The department’s spokesperson, Yonela Dekeda, said: “All toxicology results have been received from the lab and the team of clinicians, led by a forensic pathologist, are busy correlating the results with the autopsy findings and the environment where the incident occurred.”
“This is a complex exercise and the team are conducting the exercise with thoroughness and diligence.
“Once the report is finalised, the outcome will be released appropriately.”
On July 19, Dr Litha Matiwane, the Eastern Cape department of health’s deputy director-general for clinical services, said blood and gastric samples from the youngsters had been taken to a Cape Town laboratory for tests.
Matiwane said the alcohol and carbon monoxide levels found in the bodies of the youngsters were not lethal.
At the time, he said they were processing the quantitative results of methanol, which was also found in the bodies.
On late Wednesday afternoon, some of the families reported that they had been contacted by a representative of the premier’s office, who apologised for not responding to their queries, promising that one would be received.
“I have received a telephonic call from a representative in the office of the premier apologising for not responding to our correspondence. They are saying our demands, which are primarily on the cause of death, will be responded to,” one parent said.
No time frame was given.
DispatchLIVE
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