MDANTSANE - Enyobeni tavern owners Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi Ndevu have been found irresponsible for not enforcing liquor laws.
In the inquest that has been going on for two years, the East London Regional Court sitting in Mdantsane said Siyakhangela did not perform his duties according to the law.
He was seen in video footage selling alcohol to a 16-year-old witness. The magistrate said Ndevu should have switched off the music and called the police when panic ensued in the tavern.
"He only cared about selling alcohol and the people's lives didn't matter," he said.
A total of 21 teenagers died at the establishment in June 2022. The youngest of the victims was 13 years old.
The teenagers were celebrating the end of the academic term by having a 'pens-down'.
The Eastern Cape Liquor Board opened a case against the Ndevus, alleging they did not follow the law by selling alcohol to minors. They paid a R5,000 fine each after they were found guilty.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) found the Liquor Board to have been at fault as well. The SAHRC also found the police and municipality to have been complicit in acting against the owners.