South Africa: Tavern Tragedy - 'What Killed Our Children' - Two Months Later, Families Still Don't Have Answers

A July 19, 2022 press briefing by the Eastern Cape Office of the Premier and the Police Ministry.
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The families of 21 school children found dead at Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London, on 26 June are starting to think they will never know what killed their children.

On Friday the manager of Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London, briefly appeared in court on charges of selling alcohol to minors. But, with the two-month anniversary of the tragedy coming up this week, families of the deceased say they might never know what killed their children.

Outside the East London Regional Court, panic was beginning to grip families who believe they might never know what happened that dreadful night.

On 26 June, the bodies of 21 youngsters, the youngest aged 13, were found in Enyobeni. They were at a "pens down" party, celebrating the start of the winter holidays.

The deaths baffled local forensic pathologists and samples of the teeenagers' blood, stomach contents, and belongings and clothes found on the scene, were sent to Cape Town for a more detailed analysis.

In July, Dr Litha Matiwane of the Eastern Cape Health Department said all the victims had methanol in their blood. Methanol is a type of alcohol that can be poisonous above a certain quantity. There have...

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