The department has been informed of the picket by families of 21 children who died at Enyobeni Tavern tragedy in July 2022 at our Woodbrook Forensic offices in East London this morning.
The department wishes to provide clarity on the processes followed in issuing the cause of death results.
It must be noted that the department's mandate/responsibility remains that of conducting forensic investigations for cases that require investigations to determine the cause of death.
This means that the forensic report and all other relevant documents for such cases belong to the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Upon the completion of the forensic investigation process, the department handed over the report to the SAPS investigation officer.
The department wishes to report that the cause(s) of death results for this particular case were handed over to SAPS to conduct their investigation.
We also want to emphasise that this is standard procedure, as the law prohibits the department to divulge the cause of death for investigative cases, as this may jeopardize police investigation.
The department also wishes to emphasize that the matter is before the Court of law.
Mr Mkhululi Ndamase, Spokesperson to MEC on 071 851 8338
Ms Yonela Dekeda, Provincial Spokesperson, Eastern Cape Department of Health on 083 378 0968
