'I didn’t know paying the fine was admitting guilt,' former tavern employee tells court

A former Enyobeni Tavern employee who paid an admission of guilt fine after the deaths of young people and minors at the tavern in Scenery Park, East London, in June 2022 has testified he did not understand he admitted guilt by paying the fine.

Sivuyile Gqamlana told the East London regional court: “I paid to get myself off the case and I wanted nothing to do with the case, but I didn’t know I was admitting to selling [alcohol] to underage children.

“Because if that was the case, I wouldn’t have made that admission.”

Gqamlana was the cashier at the tavern on the night 21 young people died.

Operational manager Siyakhangela Ndevu and his wife and tavern owner, Vuyokazi, have pleaded not guilty to selling or supplying liquor to people under the age of 18  and conniving with and permitting employees and agents to sell or deliver liquor to underage people.

Gqamlana was testifying in their defence after the state closed its case in October.

He said the impression he got from the investigating officer was that if he paid the R2,000 fine he would not be involved in the case any further.

“I saw myself as innocent [when I paid the fine].

“I stand by that everyone in [the tavern] was of the legal age limit.”

Gqamlana told the court it was October when he understood the decision to pay the fine was wrong.

“I didn’t know what a fine was. The question on my mind was how I got into this and how I get out.

“Paying the money was the only option I had.”

Pressed by prosecutor advocate Thango Pangalele, Gqamlana would not answer when it was put to him that he had paid the fine because he knew he was guilty of selling alcohol to minors.

In his evidence-in-chief, Gqamlana testified he did not focus on the faces of the alcohol buyers but on the change he was giving customers.

He admitted he was working alone that night and was under pressure.

“Everyone [buying] I thought was legal to buy as bouncers made sure someone who comes in is of the right age.”

He said he and another employee were called to the police station and told they would be fined for selling alcohol to minors as they had been seen on CCTV footage.

“We tried to ask questions to help us not to be fined. We didn’t know what being fined is.

“We were not shown any footage.

“We told the police we can’t be fined because it was not our responsibility to ensure people at the till counter are of the right age.

“We were told we had the responsibility to ask for IDs.

“We were told if we don’t pay the fine we would be arrested ... after fingerprints and photos were taken ... we were told to ask Ndevu to pay for us.

“We asked him to pay for us because we were scared.

“We feared appearing in court because we were also afraid of the situation.

“He said he would talk to his lawyer first.”

Gqamlana said he ended up borrowing the fine money from a friend.

The trial continues.

The inquest into what led to the deaths of the 21 young people will be heard on December 4 and 5.

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