Residents around Enyobeni Tavern resorted to putting up fences to keep patrons away

People living near the Enyobeni Tavern have taken extra measures to protect their properties from patrons who end up in their yards in the early hours of the morning.

Three houses surrounding the tavern, which has become the center of attention over the last nine days where 21 lives were lost, are fenced using barbed wire.

One of the neighbours, an old man who didn’t want to reveal his identity, says he had to protect his property from the annoying patrons who always setup their camp chairs around his house.

“It always gets packed here on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It gets so congested that one cannot move in or out of their property.”

He says they struggle to sleep and has had an incident where someone bumped his car.

“They drink inside our yards, even on that day, they set up tables outside and drank inside my yard. It has been a difficult situation.”

Another neighbour, Nolitha Ntsangani has also upgraded her fencing to the barbed wire type as she has woken up with people on her veranda on a number of occasions.

Ntsangani says they had accepted their situation but have now decided to try to protect themselves from the trespassers who would come to their yards after their partying at the Enyobeni Tavern.

They say they had gotten used to the noise but sometimes they would wake up from their sleep with people talking next to their bedroom window and would struggle to go back to sleep.

Ntsangani says, “For the first time in ages, the past weekend was quiet and for the first time in a long time we had peaceful sleep during a weekend.”

As the residents try to get used to a strangely quiet way of living, they say their only issue now is the influx of journalists from around the country who are trying to interview them about the events of the fateful morning of June 25.

It has been nine days and the neighbours of Enyobeni Tavern are beginning to experience media burnout.

With the funeral being held on Wednesday, they say they are looking forward to Thursday where their lives can go back to normal.