Enyobeni Tavern: Eastern Cape govt criticised for sponsoring funeral

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Bheki Cele were in attendance to address the bereaved Enyobeni Tavern victims' families.

By / / Viral / 3 minutes of reading
enyobeni tavern funeral

The 21 victims of the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy were honoured in a mass funeral held in Scenery Park, East London, on Wednesday

Enyobeni Tavern mass funeral gets backlash on social media

Large crowds gathered at the marquee tent set up in the township to pay tribute to the 21 children aged between 13 and 17 who died under mysterious circumstances at a local nightclub on Sunday, 26 June 2022.

“The youths came from different areas of East London to the tavern to only to depart from this world with dreams unaccomplished, bereaved families in agony, the province poorer of talent, and South and the world saddened and mourning,” the Eastern Cape government wrote in a statement.

The mass funeral, from what we understand, is not an actual send-off. Instead, 21 empty coffins were brought in and displayed at the venue as a means to commemorate the tribute and honour the Enyobeni Tavern victims’ families.

When the procession concludes, the provincial government explained, the bodies of the victims will be returned to their respective families, where private funerals will be held.

Police Minister Bheki Cele and President Cyril Ramaphosa are expected to address the mass funeral, which you can watch live below:

The Enyobeni Tavern tragedy remains a mystery more than a week after the victims’ lifeless bodies were discovered strewn across the floor of the local nightclub.

Conspiracies have dominated speculation around the cause of the mass deaths, but as things stand, investigators have yet to offer closure to families with concrete information on what exactly led to the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy.

On social media, observers have been critical of the provincial government’s decision to fund the mass funeral, held in honour of the victims.

Here are some of the reactions: