Lithemba Velaphi, Mbulelo Rhangile, Inathi Nkani, Kungentando Nzima, Ovayo Mateyise, Bongolethu Ncandana, Anathi Ngqoza, Sinothando Mgangala, Simamkele Sobetwa, Aluncedo Monela, Simele Bolsiki, Esinako Sinarhana, Oyena Ngoloyi, Lungile Bekiso, Asamkele Thukuthe, Azizipho Zilindile, Inamandla Wexu, Lilitha Methuko, Sisanda Mahlahlaka, Sisekela Tshemese and Thembinkosi Silwane.
No more breakfasts in bed. No more birthday lunches. No more celebratory dinners or braais.
It’s been 365 days since 21 teenagers perished at a tavern in the Eastern Cape.
On the morning of 26 June 2022, South Africans woke up to the shocking news that in the early hours of that morning 21 teenagers “collapsed and died like flies” at Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park.
Yet a year since that tragic day, the parents of the teens still do not know what happened to their children.
Zonke Mgangala’s niece Sinothando Mgangala was only 16 when she died.
Sinothando’s friends and cousin who survived told Zonke she wasn’t even drunk.
“It was her first time going out like that. They say she was not even drunk, according to her friends who confessed to having been drunk. They say she was carrying everyone’s belongings. She just wanted to be in a fun environment with her peers. It has really been a hard time for us. We are trying to heal, and things are not as bad as last year, but the wound is still there.”
She says this also talks to the issue of recreational facilities for young people. Saying in her day, people who wanted to have fun could go to a disco.
“This is multilayered. It’s not as simple as kids going out drinking. Society needs to take a hard look at itself."
Zonke says it hard for them to accept that a year later, they still do not know what killed their children.
Read more | Families of 21 teens who died at Enyobeni want tavern owner stopped from operating his other pubs
“We haven’t had time to grieve. We have been fighting, looking for information and justice. They told us it was asphyxiation and we told them we rejected that, we didn’t believe it.
“I know there are people who judge us as parents of children who died in that tragedy as if we are the ones who had sent them there. But the truth is that no parent can ever be happy with children who ignore instructions and go drinking.
“I can tell you this, whatever killed them was not just alcohol, that alcohol was not clean. People have been drinking alcohol for years and no one has died like that. When we saw the bodies just after hours after they had died, they did not look like themselves. My Sinothando was what is called a yellowbone. Yet when we went to identify her, she was dark and grey. We had to look behind her ears to identify her. And her feet, her feet looked like mine and they were her normal complexion even though her face was grey. Some of the other kids were bleeding from the mouths and noses.”
Zonke says she often talks to her own twins and without mentioning Sinothando’s name, she reminds them what being at the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to.
“We are victims of a traumatic event. If one child gets drunk, we get triggered, worried if this will be like Sinothando’s case.
“Her cousin who was there has been really struggling. She drinks heavily and has become aggressive. She says it should have been her that died that day, instead of Sinothando. The government promised therapy for the survivors, but they only got two sessions.”
Xolile Malangeni is emotional when he says they need closure, but they do not have it because no one cares about them.
“Unfortunately, in our country if you do not have a politically popular surname then you do not matter. How can we have closure when we do not know what killed our kids? There is a lot that has been hidden here.
“Enyobeni is open again. I have personally sent the pictures to all the relevant parties, but nothing has been done about it. Apparently, they are buying and selling empty bottles, but I believe that is a front for selling alcohol. That owner has been trying to open taverns in other townships across the city.”
Xolile says he now stricter on children, not only his own.
“I heard there was a pens down event planned for the weekend and I alerted all the ward councilors and police because we do not want a repeat of what happened last year.”
After the June exams last year, learners from various in East London attended a pens down event and the after party was held at Enyobeni Tavern.
Xolile says he misses the long chats he used to have with his daughter, Esinako.
Read more | 'Don't blame parents for Scenery Park tragedy' - psychologist says after teenagers die in tavern
“She was always the first to wish me a happy Fathers’ Day. She and I would have long coffee sessions together. This year, she would have turned 18 on 6 May and it was a tough day. Her siblings talk about her a lot, to try and heal. The government needs to tell us the truth and the law needs to take its course. While we are suffering and trying to deal our loss, the owner has not even been in custody, his life has moved on.”
Bongolethu Ncandana was 17 years old when he died that day. He was buried on what would have been his 18th birthday on 9 July, says his father, Khululekile.
Khululekile says the fact that the state cannot even give them copies of the postmortem report is suspicious.
“They just told us verbally that it was asphyxiation and we rejected it.
“I have always been strict with my kids. But I have also been honest them and had real conversations with them about delayed gratification. I have always encouraged them to do first things first. Focus on school and then when you are older, if you still want to drink you can drink. I have been so open with them that I have told them to come to me when they are ready to have sex and they have questions. I have told them how harsh life can be.
“We do not have closure. We cannot have closure until we know what happened to them. This is a wound that will never heal because a part of me died with him."
Today the parents are having a memorial service in Scenery Park to remember their dearly departed children.
