Court finds sufficient evidence to prosecute Enyobeni Tavern owners

The KuGompo Magistrates’ Court has found that there is enough evidence to prosecute the Enyobeni Tavern owners, Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi Ndevu, in connection with the tragic death of  21 teenagers during a pens-down party in 2022.

The victims, 12 boys and nine girls aged between 13 and 21, were found dead at the Scenery Park tavern following an overcrowded pens-down celebration.

Magistrate, Mkhululi Lomalindi, delivered the inquest findings at the KuGompo Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

The inquest, which began in 2024, heard evidence from more than 30 witnesses.

Magistrate Lomalindi also found SAPS officer, Sergeant Thabisa Kondile, guilty of gross negligence for failing to follow up on complaints about Enyobeni Tavern, a month before the tragedy.

He said Kondile had failed the community of Scenery Park.

“It is my respectful view that she failed the community of and her surrounding area.  A number of the offences are committed in her presence. She does nothing, as if nothing happened.

“She sent pictures of people transgressing the provisions of the Eastern Cape Liquor Act; even then, she did nothing.”

In 2024, the tavern owners were each fined R5 000 or sentenced to 100′ days imprisonment after being convicted of selling alcohol to a minor.

The convictions came despite forensic pathologists concluding that the teenagers most likely died as a result of overcrowding and inadequate ventilation inside the tavern.

#sapsEC [SAPS NOTE ON ENYOBENI TAVERN INQUEST JUDGMENT] #SAPS in the Eastern Cape has been informed of the judgment delivered today by the KuGompo Regional Court in the inquest into the deaths of 21 young people at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, KuGompo City, on 26 June… pic.twitter.com/ox647xTYBt

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) July 10, 2026