The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has found that the Health Department and the South African Police Service (SAPS) failed to uphold the dignity of victims of the Enyobeni tavern tragedy.
The commission on Thursday released a report looking into the deaths of 21 patrons at the Enyobeni tavern in 2022, most of them minors.
In February, the owners Vuyokazi and Siyakhangela Ndevu were fined R5000 each or 100 days imprisonment after they were convicted for selling alcohol to minors who testified against them at the East London Regional Court.
In 2022, 21 minors, mostly school children, lost their lives at an event after completing exams.
The issue then devolved into a tragedy when the patrons, aged between 14 and 20 years old, were found dead at the tavern.
On Thursday, the SAHRC in the Eastern Cape released an extensive report, after conducting what it terms a thorough investigation into the systemic challenges associated with this calamity.
The Eastern Cape Liquor Board, the SAPS, the Department of Trade and Industry and Social Development along with the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality have all been mentioned in the report.
“The commission finds that the Buffalo City Municipality failed to fulfil its obligations in ensuring the protection of fundamental human rights, particularly in relation to zoning regulations, monitoring of liquor licence applications, and the establishment of a local drug action committee,” said SAHRC Eastern Cape manager Dr Eileen Carter.
In relation to the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, the report found that it deliberately neglected to protect vulnerable members of society against the illicit trade of alcohol and its associated harms.
-EWN
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