FAMILIES of the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy victims have stepped in to oppose the Buffalo City Municipality's plan.
The municipality plans to demolish the scene of the tragedy where 21 young people died last year in what is believed to have been a pens down party.
The manager and owner of the notorious tavern, Siyakhengala and Vuyokazi Ndevu, were served with papers from the city by the sheriff of the court on Wednesday, 19 July.
The papers indicated the municipality's plans to demolish the tavern building.
But the move has distressed the families of the victims as they are concerned that the Scenery Park tavern could be crucial to the prosecution if the inquest case proceeds.
The mother of one of the deceased, Ntombizonke Mgangala, said if the building is demolished, it means that vital evidence will be destroyed.
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"We are not happy with the municipality's decision to demolish the tavern building because it is a crime scene.
"We are completely against this move, and if the owners of Enyobeni have violated the by-laws, the municipality should close the place and evict them instead of demolishing it," she said.
Buffalo City Metro spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya confirmed that the city is taking action against the building structure and operations of the tavern.
"Following last year's tragic accident, the Metro conducted an investigation into the operations of this business. It was discovered that there was no approved building plan, and therefore, the building was constructed illegally, in violation of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards," he said.
Ngwenya said the city's Directorate of Spatial Planning and Development found that the business operates in a residential zone and did not submit any application for permission to operate as a business on this property, therefore, the tavern is operating illegally according to the Zoning Scheme.
"The municipality's legal division is taking action, which includes serving the transgressor with a notice to comply with the municipality's Building Standards and Regulations and rectify the encroachment that occurred on the property.
"This is a legal process that expects the transgressors to comply, cease operations, and demolish the structure. If they fail to do so, the municipality will seek further court permissions to act accordingly, as permitted by its by-laws," said Ngwenya.
The owner of the tavern vowed to fight the tavern demolition and described the move by the municipality as a witch-hunt.
