Outrage as cause of tavern deaths withheld

The Eastern Cape health department sparked outrage by announcing it did not intend to announce exactly what killed the Enyobeni tavern victims — even to their parents.

Provincial health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said: “The cause of death is a confidential document. We have sought a legal opinion over the matter and we were advised not to disclose the results [to the media].”

But they haven’t told the parents either.

Manana said its decision was taken in anticipation of “legal processes that might follow”.  

The dean of law at Fort Hare university, Prof Mzukisi Njotini, said the parents of the victims had the right to challenge the department if they were not happy with the official explanation. 

He was commenting after the department of health said it had been advised it was not obliged to release the toxicology results — even to the parents — regarding the deaths of 21 youngsters at the Scenery Park tavern on June 26.

On Thursday, the parents were called to the department’s district offices in West Bank for the release of the final report. The media was barred from the meeting.

Njotini said even if the government were to say it was not obliged to disclose medical records, the interests of the parents needed to be considered.

“The government can also tell the parents they are dealing with medical records here and is not obliged to divulge them to the public.

“But that argument cannot be extended to the parents of the victims, because they have a direct interest in the matter.

“The government has to be very careful here, particularly with parents who need to know what happened to their children.”

After Thursday’s meeting, the parents once again emerged with more questions than answers.

The parents were called in one by one by “a doctor” and told their children had died as a result of suffocation.

On July 19 the government, in a briefing with parents and the media, said it was waiting for the quantitative results regarding methanol — a form of alcohol — which, it said, was found in all the youngsters’ bodies.

But parents said on Thursday the authorities told them methanol was not the cause of death.

Ntombizonke Mgangala, Sinothando Mgangala’s aunt, said they had hoped the call to attend the meeting would give them closure.

“They told us it’s suffocation, saying the main cause of death was that the children struggled to breathe. They said alcohol poisoning was not the cause of death.  

“We were expecting to get a full report but they said they won’t do that. It was just word of mouth from them.

“They said we are not allowed to get a written report of the results.

“This is so painful. We are not being treated with the dignity we deserve.”

Mgangala said they were going to take legal advice.

“We are not going to let this go. We want the right answers. We are sick and tired of this government.

“They previously told us that a stampede had been ruled out. But doesn’t a stampede lead to suffocation?”

Thozama Sanarana, Esinako Sanarana’s aunt, said: “We are not happy with their explanation. This is so painful.

“When we wanted further explanation they said they are not allowed to explain the whole process.”

Nomawethu Mboyiya of Amalinda Forest, the mother of Sandanathi Mahlakahlaka, broke down when she briefed the media on what she had been told.

“I was told by the doctor my child died as the result of suffocation.

“They told us that the cause of death of our children is not the same, but all the parents who were briefed about the results say it was suffocation.

“These people wasted our time.”

Njotini said: “Parents have the right to legally force government to disclose the outcome of the investigation.

“This is what the government has promised South Africans and the world.

“The basic legal principle, relating to the notion of justice, says that justice must not only be done but it must be seen to be done.

“The legal framework in SA is vast. Of course, the parents can go to court and apply to force the government to provide them with the information via the Promotion of Access to Information Act.”

Njotini said even if the government were to say it was not obliged to disclose medical records, the interests of the parents needed to be considered.

Dr Siyabulela Fobosi, acting head of the Unesco Oliver Tambo chair of Human Rights at the University of Fort Hare, said: “The children’s right to life was tampered with. Parents and the media deserve to know exactly what happened.

“People have the right to access information and that right must not be violated.

“If the people’s right to information is tampered with, that’s problematic.”

Folosi said the tavern owner needed to publicly apologise to the public over what happened on their premises.

The withholding of the cause of death from the public and media, after months of protracted investigations and contradictory information being released, was met with outrage across all quarters.

On social media, several members of the public slated the government’s decision, with several alleging a cover-up and even calling for the SA Human Rights Commission to step in to uncover the truth of what transpired.

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