[imagesource: Twitter / @SfisoSijako]

Yesterday, South Africa woke up to the tragic news that at least 21 people, many of them reportedly underage, died under mysterious circumstances in the early hours of Sunday morning at Enyobeni tavern in Scenery Park, East London.

It’s believed that the youngest person to die was just 13.

17 people were found dead on the scene, while four died later in hospital, according to an Eastern Cape South African Police Service (SAPS) statement.

Confusion remains over exactly how they died – some reports stated alcohol poisoning while others spoke of a “stampede” incident – and efforts are still underway to determine the cause of death.

Before we get to the initial autopsy results, we can take a closer look at some of the videos circulating showing the party.

It’s no great surprise that so many youngsters turned up when you have a look at the tavern’s Facebook post promoting the party:

It’s believed the event was a “pens down party” which is held after the completion of the mid-year high school exams, hence the high number of teenagers in attendance.

Ominously, reports The Daily Maverick, the final word of the above post was rather prophetic:

…“kuzofiwa”, which, in a party context, is a slang term for, “It’s going to be a great time”. Its literal translation in isiXhosa, however, is: “There is going to be death”.

Footage of the party is doing the rounds:

#eastlondon Enyobeni Scenery park last night under age kids so far 17 were confirmed dead inside the tavern apparently the owner sprayed pepper spray so that people could go out is too full inside 💔💔💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/E4nLfJSvR2

— sfiso ngisa sijako (@SfisoSijako) June 26, 2022

Enyobeni tavern in East London should be permanently closed and the owner should be arrested for negligence 💔😭 pic.twitter.com/746dgGQrAa

— Truthteller (@Truthte83602973) June 26, 2022

Naturally, social media has turned into a blame game, with some pointing the finger at parents who let their children attend.

That’s somewhat ironic after this clip went viral last week:

Just last week this parent was blamed and ridiculed here on twitter for going to fetch her child at groove but today idiots are blaming parents for letting their children go to #EnyobeniTavern…pic.twitter.com/JFwRE3AJrH

— Sundowns_Fanatic08 💛 👆 (@Madumetja__M08) June 26, 2022

As the backlash and anger continue to grow, The Citizen reports that charges will be laid against the owner of the Enyobeni tavern by the Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB):

“Necessary steps are being taken to deal with this liquor outlet, including the immediate revocation of the liquor license and laying criminal charges against the license holder for the blatant contravention of the Eastern Cape Liquor Act that clearly stipulates that no alcohol shall be sold to persons under the age of 18,” said ECLB Chief executive Officer Dr Nombuyiselo Makala.

Minister of Police Bheki Cele was on the scene yesterday and said SAPS has sent an “experienced team” to “ensure that we get to the bottom of what has led to the death of these young people”.

We may have some indication of what transpired from the initial autopsy results:

The victims’ bodies were found slumped over chairs and couches or on the floor in a circle. There were no signs of visible injuries.

But from initial autopsy results, forensic pathologists suspect the cause of death to be from something they inhaled or ingested, according to Unathi Binqose, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Department of Community Safety.

He told Daily Maverick the forensic pathologists “said it was something they ingested, possibly from the beers they were consuming, or something they inhaled from those hubbly-bubblies [water pipes or hookahs] that they were smoking”.

Binqose said surveillance footage showed a number of people smoking hubbly-bubblies, adding that more information will be revealed once the toxicology tests and post-mortem are completed.

Ultimately, whatever the cause, it’s just a tragic loss of life for which someone must be held accountable.

[sources:citizen&dailymav]