Police to probe deaths at Cape tavern

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STRICTLY FOR CAPE ARGUS USE ONLY

Published Jun 29, 2015

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Cape Town - Police have opened an inquest docket into the deaths of eight young women – the youngest aged 15 – following the collapse of a staircase railing outside a Khayelitsha tavern.

And in what can only be described as a bizarre twist of fate, police have confirmed that two of the victims were killed in a car crash while on their way to hospital.

The collapse led to a stampede around closing time in the early hours on Sunday.

The owner of the popular drinking hole, Osi’s Place – also known as Osawa Tavern – in Makhaza, refused to provide more details about the incident.

The owner said he did not know the people who died but would attempt to get into contact with their families.

He said he had been advised by the police not to give comment until a statement was released.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut said that two of the eight people killed had died on the way to hospital “when the vehicle they were transported in was involved in an accident”.

“A culpable homicide docket has been registered for their death,” said Traut.

He said the deceased were all females, aged between 15 and 23. Six others, aged between 17 and 24, were injured.

“Police have opened an inquest docket to determine if any person can be held responsible for their deaths.”

Emergency Medical Services spokesman Darren Francis said the injured were treated for minor injures and discharged yesterday.

“The injuries were not that serious and it was not necessary to refer them to a district hospital. They were treated at the Site B Community Health Centre.”

The tavern was reportedly closing at the time of the tragedy and was at full capacity when the incident happened.

 

Witness reports said a group of people tried to get out of Osi’s Place while a second group tried to get in at around 3am, causing a steel step railing to collapse and sending patrons plummeting about 5m to the ground.

 

Ongeziwe Xeketwana, 22, from Makhaza was one of the victims who died during the incident.

Her mother, Nomvuyo Xeketwana, 50, said the family was finding it difficult to deal with the tragedy.

Nomvuyo received a call from an unknown number at about 3am, telling her that her daughter had been taken to hospital.

“I think he ran out of airtime as he was about to tell me more details. He said his name was Lwando and he had taken Ongeziwe to hospital.

“Moments later, I received another call from a person who described herself as a nurse at Khayelitsha Hospital.

“She asked me if I was Ongeziwe’s mother and told me I needed to come to hospital,” said Nomvuyo.

By the time Nomvuyo arrived at the hospital, the doctor on duty told her that her daughter was dead.

“I am not sure whether she died there or on her way to the hospital. The last time I spoke with her was at around 7pm on Saturday and she said she was going down the road and would be back,” Nomvuyo said.

The unemployed mother said the family were trying to make funeral arrangements but had not decided when to hold the burial.

“What I heard had happened was that there were people drinking at the tavern from the top floor and it was full.

“When they were closing, the people who were outside wanted to get inside and the railing fell; people started falling over,” she said.

The tavern remained closed on Sunday.

A witness at the scene of the incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “This happened when the tavern was closing. There were just too many people and there was chaos. The people who were outside tried to force their way in.”

 

Ward councillor Mpucuko Nguzo sent his condolences to the families.

Fire and Rescue spokesman Theo Layne said he could not comment on this particular incident as they did not respond to it. However, he said there were dangers involved when a public place had reached its maximum limit.

“It is always a danger because in the event of a fire or anything else there must be sufficient escape doors and people must be able to get out unharmed.”

Layne added that it was important that exits and emergency doors were clearly demarcated.

“Although I cannot comment on this particular place, there is a generic criteria that all places need to abide by.”

City mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said liquor outlets needed to be more responsible with letting under-age people into drinking establishments.

“The reality is if you allow them (underage people) to drink they are more likely to get into harms way as pedestrians, on the roads, falling off balconies, falling into holes and cutting themselves on broken glass.”

Smith said he had not heard about Sunday’s fatal incident but said drinking laws needed to be enforced as youngsters got into “a lot of avoidable accidents”.

“There is no point in raising the legal drinking age if the current one is not being enforced and it can only be enforced by being there.

“Then we will start making a difference and we will be able to start focusing on problem areas.”

Smith added the liquor industry needed to be more responsible as distributors were also seen supplying illegal drinking outlets. “We get more heavy-handed on the liquor outlets,” he said.

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Cape Argus and Cape Times

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