Francesca Villette and Sandiso Phaliso
THE owner of a Khayelitsha tavern where eight young women and girls were killed in a stampede early Sunday said yesterday he has had emotional breakdowns since the tragedy.
The owner of Osi’s Place, Osawa, who did not want to give his full name, said he was mourning with relatives and was checking how he could assist. But he refused to comment on the circumstances of the deaths of the eight, aged 15 to 23
Osawa would not confirm or deny that the tavern served underaged teens and he would not be drawn into whether shots had been fired inside the tavern seconds before the stampede.
He said he and his staff had been questioned by the police and they had made statements.
All his staff, including bouncers and the DJ, have also been questioned, Osawa said.
Osawa said he would leave police to investigate, and the Western Cape Liquor Authority to decide his fate before commenting on the circumstances of the night.
Witness reports said a group of people tried to get out of the tavern while a second group tried to get in at about 3am, causing a steel step railing to collapse and some of the patrons fell 3m to their deaths.
A survivor said shots were fired inside the tavern moments before the stampede.
Acting police provincial commissioner Thembisile Patekile said an investigation was under way and officers would “leave no stone unturned”. Patekile said the deaths had caused a lot of pain and he said it could have been avoided as many civil societies like the Community Policing Forum, Neighbourhood Watch and religious organisations could have gone to the Liquor Authority to report any wrongdoing on the part of the tavern.
Police spokesperson André Traut said when police completed their investigation, the case will be presented to an Inquest Court for a hearing.
Western Cape Liquor Authority spokesperson Philip Prinsloo said Osi’s Place had been been issued a liquor licence in 2010 and it had been renewed every year since.
Prinsloo said the authority had received a report from police