A young survivor of the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy told the East London regional court on Tuesday that alcohol was openly sold to underage youths, and described how he had fought to escape the venue in which 21 children met their end in June last year.
The 16-year-old was in the witness box on Tuesday in the court where Enyobeni Tavern owner Vuyokazi Ndevu, 43, and manager Siyakhangela Ndevu, 52, stand accused of selling or supplying liquor to people under the age of 18, and of conniving with and permitting employees and agents to sell or deliver liquor to people under the age of 18.
Twenty-one young people, the youngest just 13, died at Enyobeni Tavern in the early hours of June 26 2022.
They had attended a party to celebrate the end of the June exams.
Though the incident made international news, the cause of death is still unclear after the department of health in the province withheld details of the toxicology report.
The accused have pleaded not guilty to both charges.
The teenager was among scores of illegal patrons in the tavern in Scenery Park, East London, on the night of the tragedy.
The media and court gallery, which included liquor board officials and relatives of the 21 young people who died, were barred from hearing his testimony on Tuesday.
The state, through prosecutor advocate Thango Pangalele, had brought an application for the gallery to be excused during the testimony of the teenager. Magistrate Kevin Von Bratt granted the application.
This testimony took about an hour while relatives of the victims, some dressed in T-shirts branded with the victims’ faces, waited in the court corridors.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, speaking on the sidelines of the court appearance, said: “In terms of the Child Justice Act, we cannot name the witness because he is still a minor.
“The significance of his testimony is that he was present when the incident happened at Enyobeni Tavern, and he testified that it was not the first time he was there.
“When the incident happened, he had just turned 16, and his testimony is very important in that the incident happened in his presence.
“Whatever happened there, it was first-hand information. He also witnessed liquor being sold to his peers,” Tyali said.
The Dispatch understands that the teenager told the court he and his friends had taken an e-hailing taxi to the packed venue.
He also reportedly told the court how some patrons had tried to get outside, breaking windows in a desperate struggle to get out.
He had jumped out of a window when something was allegedly sprayed inside the venue.
He further told the court that alcohol had been sold to minors, including himself.
The Dispatch has previously reported that patrons started falling down after talking about struggling to breathe.
One 14-year-old survivor said a strong and suffocating smell had erupted at the venue.
Another survivor told the Dispatch how he was robbed while lying trapped among the bodies of youngsters who had collapsed in the drinking spot.
Aphiwe Rawutini, 21, Sinobom Ntyintyi, 21, and Someleze Dyani, 22, will be back in the dock on July 27 to face charges of stealing from the victims. They were denied bail in August 2022.
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