By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
3 July 2025 – The Select Committee on Education, Sciences and the Creative Industries said it has learnt with shock of the deaths that occurred following a “pens-down” party in East London. The committee sends its deepest and heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.
Two people were reported dead and seven others were injured on the weekend following what seems to be a deliberate attack on party revellers in Nompumelelo Township, outside East London. A group of local young men, suspected to be a gang, gatecrashed a “pens-down” party and started attacking those at the tavern.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Maki Feni said the incident, the second in a short space of time in the same area, calls for parental guidance and serious reflection on situations in which learners have free access to alcohol. Feni said it is sad that fatal alcohol-related incidents that often involve learners are becoming a common but worrying occurrence in the country.
“Social gatherings where learners are allowed to use alcohol should be criminalised. The violence that characterises our society is condemned. Society must not tire in condemning the pens-down culture.
“This is so reminiscent of the recent Enyobeni incident, which was the subject of an inquiry, that resulted in the deaths of 21 learners in the same vicinity. We condemn these actions, whether learners were involved or not; law enforcement must also leave no stone unturned in this,” he said.
Feni said the Eastern Cape Department of Education must assist and determine if any learner had been affected by the incident and provide the necessary support.
The Guardian 