Chilling new information has emerged during the trial against Enyobeni Tavern owners, husband Siyakhangela and wife Vuyokazi Ndevu, on Wednesday, 24 May.

Twenty-one teenagers died from suffocation and crushing each other at the establishment in East London, Eastern Cape on 26 June 2022, where they had been partying together. During the night, 12 girls and nine boys died, with one of the victims reportedly being only 13 years old.

The pair currently stand accused of contravening the Liquor Act by selling liquor to minors.

So far, three of the ten witnesses lined up to give evidence have spoken at the East London Magistrates Court. One witness, Nalo Mtizana, said that she had seen a bouncer for the tavern spray a substance into the crowded room before they locked the door and fled.

Mtizana also claimed that Siyakhangela – who has stated he wasn’t in the tavern at the time of the tragedy – had in fact been in there and offered to buy her “expensive alcohol”.

“I saw him on TV the next morning saying he was at the bushes [initiation school]. I didn’t know he was the boss. He was there all the time this was happening. He did nothing but look at the children as they were lying on the ground,” Mtizana said.

The trial will continue on 19 July.

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