The start of the inquest into the death of 21 young patrons at the Enyobeni Tavern in the Eastern Cape has been moved to May 11 due to the unavailability of the establishment’s owners, Siyakhangela Ndevu and his wife Vuyokazi.
The couple are key witnesses in the inquest scheduled to take place at Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape.
Seven witnesses have testified in the inquest.
The inquest is intended to establish if anyone should be held accountable for the death of 21 young people on June 26, 2022.
The lawyer representing the tavern owners, Precious Daniel says, “I have not consulted with my clients since the last case, which was in February. The state has not subpoenaed them to be in court today, so that is the reason for the postponement, so that we can get their availability for the next date and we make sure where I stand legally with regards to representing them, so those are the main reasons we postponed today.”
One parent, Khululekile Ncadana, says he is optimistic that the inquest will help them to find closure.
Ncadana says, “You know that the release of the results by the Department of Health, all the parents were not happy with it that is why there is this inquest to go into details and to find out what happened, my hope is to find the truth.”
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