Eastern Cape Police Arrest Enyobeni Tavern Owner and 2 Employees Following the Deaths of 21 Teenagers

• The Enyobeni tavern owner has been arrested alongside two employees for selling alcohol to minors
• This comes after 21 teenagers died under suspicious circumstances at the East London drinking spot
• South Africans still want answers about what caused the deaths of the young children

EAST LONDON - The police in the Eastern Cape have arrested the Enyobeni tavern owner after 21 teenagers who were partying at the local drinking hole died under mysterious circumstances.

The owner was arrested alongside two employees who were there the night the young kids died.

According to eNCA, the owner, aged 52, was arrested for selling alcohol to minors. The children who died at the Scenery Park tavern in East London were aged between 14 and 17.

Charges against the owner were lodged by the Eastern Cape Liquor Board a day after the minors died. SABC News reported at the time that the institution also revoked the owner's liquor licence for going against the rules and selling alcohol to young children.

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Speaking to Briefly News, SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana says the Enyobeni tavern owner and his two employees aged 33 and 34 were initially fined R2 000 following the Liquor Board's complaint of minors buying alcohol at the establishment.

Kinana says the tavern owner is expected to appear in court on 19 August to face charges related to the contravention of the Liquor Act and selling and supplying liquor to children under the age of 18.

The two employees will only appear in court with the boss if they fail to pay their fine.

The National Liquor Traders convener Lucky Ntimane stated that the owner of Enyobeni tavern is supposed to bear the responsibility for the deaths of the teenagers.

"These incidents happen way after the closing hours of such a tavern, also that there were underage children in that establishment, this should never have happened. This tavern should be closed," says Ntimane.

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The minors have since been buried and the post-mortem report regarding their cause of death has not been released yet.

The Eastern Cape provincial forged ahead with a mass funeral for the minors, despite parents being against the idea. Most of the caskets at the ceremony were empty, which left South Africans outraged.

South Africans react to Enyobeni tavern owner getting arrested

South Africans are still wonering about the cause of the mysterious deaths of the 21 teens. Some people think the arrests are frivolous.

Here are some comments:

@zwelie93 said:

"I'd suggest that everyone must bring their ID when going to pubs and taverns, because lama 2k look yey."

@TimothyMoyo2 said:

"Did they buy beer? Who witnessed that? These are just frivolous charges."

@Wa_Mavu said:

"So you want to divert the attention away from telling everyone, what killed the kids, we know they will walk free or with just a fine and it will be business as usual."

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@uMashonisa_ZA said:

"Don't forget to arrest the parents of children too those kids were still under parents' care."

@errolbsk said:

"The owner should have been arrested when the ages of the deceased were known. He had underage children at the tavern for Pete's sake."

@RefilwePSeboko1 said:

"They will be out soon... Mmmmmm welcome to South Africa... Such things don't surprise us no more."

President Cyril Ramaphoa angers South Africans with attendance at Enyobeni tavern tragedy mass funeral

Briefly News previously reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa irked South Africans with his decision to attend the mass funeral for the victims of the Enyobeni tavern tragedy.

The death of the 21 underage victims who died at a tavern in Scenery Park in East London last month, allegedly due to chemical poisoning, gripped the nation.

Ramaphosa’s plan to attend the funeral caused a massive debate on social media when he announced through his weekly newsletter that he would join the service along with Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and other leadership figures.

Source: Briefly News