Enyobeni inquest: Tavern owners held liable for deaths of 21 young people

East London – The East London Regional Court has found former Enyobeni Tavern owners Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi liable for the 2022 Enyobeni Tavern tragedy that claimed the lives of 21 young people.

Delivering judgment on Friday, Magistrate Mkhululi Lomalindi ruled that the couple failed to enforce liquor laws.

[BREAKING NEWS] The judicial inquest into the death of 21 young people at Enyobeni Tavern finds police Sergeant Thabile Kondile, tavern owner Vuyokazi Ndevu, bouncer Thembisa Diko and Eastern Cape liquor board inspector Zuko Lizani responsible for the June 2022 tragedy. #Newzroom pic.twitter.com/g6Ki0cN2dl

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 10, 2026

He also found SAPS Sergeant Thabisa Kondile grossly negligent for failing to act on complaints about the tavern’s alleged contravention of the Liquor Trading Act before the tragedy.

The victims, aged between 13 and 21, died during the June 2022 incident.

A toxicology report presented during the inquest attributed the deaths to overcrowding.

Magistrate Mkhululi Lomalindi blames SAPS officer, sergeant Thabisa Kondile, of gross negligence for failure to follow up on complaints about the Enyobeni tavern’s contravention of the liqour trading act a month before the Enyobeni tragedy. Lomalindi is delivering the ruling on… pic.twitter.com/q7p6JVMQ1B

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The couple, who were arrested in 2024 under the Eastern Cape Liquor Act, have consistently denied responsibility. In October 2024, the East London High Court ordered them to demolish the tavern and barred it from operating unless it complied with legal requirements.

The ruling follows months of evidence presented during the inquest and comes after the South African Human Rights Commission called for stricter regulation of taverns in its report on the tragedy.