Thulisile Mapongwana
Enyobeni tavern owner Siyakhangela Ndevu finally took the stand in the inquest into the deaths of 21 minors at his Scenery Park tavern in East London.
Led by evidence leader Advocate Luvuyo Vena, he told the court the deadly party was organised by his resident DJ, Cish, who was expecting to host a birthday party for about 20 guests in the VIP area upstairs.
Ndevu said on 25 June 2022, he met up with the DJ at about 2pm and told him to organise his own security so that his patrons wouldn’t go upstairs and crash his all-black party.
He said he then left the establishment before the event started at 6pm — to check on his other businesses — and returned around 9pm with diesel for his generator, as loadshedding was expected.
He said he saw that the venue was starting to get full by the till point when he returned.
During this time, his wife, Vuyokazi, was at home taking care of their son at initiation school.
It was at this point that Advocate Vena stated that in the absence of Mrs Ndevu, the manager was expected to be onsite at all times during trading hours.
“You wilfully contravened the conditions of your liquor licence.”
Ndevu concurred that he was expected to be there.
“That is correct, but it does not mean I cannot do my own things. I am not tied to that place.”
Vena said it was careless for Ndevu to leave, especially without organising extra security while knowing the event had been widely advertised.
DJ Cish previously testified that the all-black party might have been his birthday theme, but the event was essentially hosted for the Ndevus to recoup money they had lost after a failed all-white party.
Continuing with his evidence, Ndevu said he left the tavern again after midnight and walked out the door, where Thembisa Diko, his former bouncer, was still stationed.
This was strongly disputed by Diko’s lawyer, Mzwanele Nkebe, who maintained that his client had abandoned her duties after struggling with the crowd, eventually going upstairs to drink.
Ndevu maintains he does not recall her leaving her post.
He said that when he was leaving, he handed over responsibility to another bouncer, Siphamandla Marele, to close the bar area at around 1 am.
“I took about an hour at initiation school and left there before 2 am and went to check on my other tavern at New Life. As I was leaving, I got a call from Bulelani Mlonyeni informing me that younger kids had gatecrashed the party and that my employees would not be able to close.”
He said that Mlonyeni had put it lightly, as he was shocked when he arrived at Enyobeni and saw the horror unfolding.
Vena asked if he understood why he had to be there at all times.
“Yes, I know, that is why I am always there.”
Ndevu refused to acknowledge that his absence was in contravention of his license, arguing that he was not bound or imprisoned to be there at all times and regularly left the tavern around midnight when patrons started thinning out.
When asked why he did not apply for a special permit to host the event, he stated that he was not aware he needed to do so.
“I only know that I need to apply when I go sell elsewhere.”
Vena responded that everything goes back to patron safety.
“The experienced [officials] need to inspect how many people the space can accommodate, what safety measures will be in place in case of disaster, and whether there will be emergency assistance should something go wrong.”
To this, Ndevu replied:
“I said it before and I will say it again — I still don’t know of such a permit. Even the part of how many patrons can be accommodated… I don’t remember seeing that part in my license. It must be one of the new amendments after the Enyobeni incident.”
He added that on previous occasions, he would get additional bouncers.
“Had I known young children would gatecrash at odd hours of the morning coming from Pens Down parties, I would have organised extra security.”
“In fact, no loyal customer of mine got injured — just the young kids who pushed their way in. They died of the overcrowding they caused. I cannot be crucified for parents who failed to discipline their children.”
But Vena pushed back:
“Let me debunk this Pens Down party you seem to want to blame for this incident. It does not matter where your patrons come from. You have a duty to ensure their safety when they are at your tavern.”
“You cannot run away from the fact that legally, you are bound. Anything that happens there, the buck stops with you, not with the parents.”
Under cross-examination by family attorney Vuyisile Magqabi, Ndevu was asked how his age verification process was conducted at the tavern, as one of the deceased was a 14-year-old.
He says that when his bouncers suspected the age of the patron, they were expected to require an ID and turn away anyone underage.
Moving on to the regulatory frameworks, Magqabi questioned Ndevu on the Liquor Act, stating that as the manager, he had an obligation to carry out the health and safety conditions, alongside there being no provision for a supervisor.
Ndevu said on the evening in question, there were about six bouncers on the floor ready to handle a crisis.
He said there was, however, an unwritten rule that bouncers were not allowed to carry weapons, and were expected to maintain order using only their hands.
Ndevu told the court he never saw or smelled the pepper spray his former bouncer, Thembisa Diko, admitted to using that evening.
Advocate Magqabi challenged the tavern’s safety plan.
He questioned why no first aid was administered to help the patrons, despite kits being provided by the Eastern Cape Liquor Board.
Ndevu concurred there was nothing done to help prevent the elongated suffering of the patrons.
Magqabi is expected to continue his cross-examination on Friday.
