Families who lost children in the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy, and civil society organisations, have launched a petition calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to help them get justice after the deaths of 21 young people in June.

Families who lost children in the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy, where 21 young people died during a party to celebrate the end of exams, are asking President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene, saying he is the only one who can help them now.

The families, backed by the South African Council of Churches (SACC), several civil society organisations and a legal team, have launched a petition demanding accountability for the systemic failures that contributed to the children's deaths.

Twenty-one young people, the youngest aged 13, died at the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park, East London, on the night of 26 June. They had attended a "pens-down" party to celebrate the end of the June exams.

A post-mortem report shared with parents said the victims had crush injuries and had suffocated -- the results of a final toxicology report have not been made public.

A preliminary report found that all the victims had methanol, a type of alcohol which is potentially deadly to humans, in their blood....