UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA
College of Law
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
OVM3701: Victimology
Assignment 3 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
OVM3701
Module Code:
Victimology
Module Name:
Enyobeni Tavern Disaster — Expert Assis-
Essay Topic:
tance & Cognitive Interviewing
Assignment 3
Assignment Number:
100
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for OVM3701 — UNISA 2026
,UNISA | OVM3701 Enyobeni Tavern Disaster
Introduction
On 26 June 2022, twenty-one young people died inside the Enyobeni Tavern in East London,
Eastern Cape, during a hlanjwa iphepha (“pens down”) celebration marking the end of their
school examinations (Wikipedia, 2022). Four additional patrons sustained injuries. The deaths
were initially suspected to result from a crowd crush, but investigating authorities quickly
ruled this out. Subsequent toxicological analysis on 19 July 2022 confirmed that methanol
was present in the bodies of all twenty-one deceased, although authorities were still examin-
ing whether the detected levels were individually lethal or whether a combination of factors
contributed to death (ETD, 2022).
This assignment examines two interrelated pillars of the investigation. The first is the role of
expert forensic assistance at the crime scene, with specific attention to the fields of forensic
science that were applicable in this case. The second is the application of the cognitive inter-
view technique when gathering information from surviving victims and eyewitnesses, together
with the methods available for recording such interviews. The assignment draws on the facts
disclosed in the case study and supports its discussion with current academic literature and
South African institutional sources.
Page 2 of 19
, UNISA | OVM3701 Enyobeni Tavern Disaster
Definition of Concepts
Expert Assistance
Expert assistance in criminal investigation refers to the deployment of specialists with techni-
cal, scientific, or professional knowledge beyond the ordinary competence of a police investiga-
tor, to examine, analyse, and interpret evidence at a crime scene or in a laboratory (Du Pokoy,
2025). In South Africa, expert forensic evidence is admissible under section 210 of the Crimi-
nal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, provided it is relevant to a matter in dispute (Du Pokoy, 2025).
The weight assigned to such evidence is evaluated by the presiding officer at trial, meaning
that reliability is assessed ex post rather than at the admissibility stage.
Forensic Science
Forensic science is the systematic application of scientific principles and techniques to the
analysis of evidence, with the goal of assisting in criminal investigation and legal proceedings
(Wesco Forensic Services, 2023). The South African Academy of Forensic Sciences (SAAFS)
recognises seven broad categories of forensic practice aligned with the international Organ-
isation of Scientific Area Committees framework (SAAFS, 2025). These categories include,
among others, forensic pathology, forensic chemistry and toxicology, forensic biology, and
crime scene investigation.
Cognitive Interview
The cognitive interview (CI) is a structured questioning technique developed in 1984 by
Ronald Fisher and Edward Geiselman to improve the completeness and accuracy of infor-
mation retrieved from cooperative eyewitnesses and victims (Fisher and Geiselman, 1992). It
is grounded in the encoding specificity principle, which holds that memory retrieval is most
effective when the context at retrieval resembles the context at encoding (Wikipedia, 2025;
Fisher and Geiselman, 1992).
Crime Scene
A crime scene is any location where evidence pertaining to a criminal offence may be found.
In cases involving mass casualties or suspected poisoning, the crime scene extends beyond the
Page 3 of 19
College of Law
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
OVM3701: Victimology
Assignment 3 — Semester 1, 2026
⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄ ⋄⋄
OVM3701
Module Code:
Victimology
Module Name:
Enyobeni Tavern Disaster — Expert Assis-
Essay Topic:
tance & Cognitive Interviewing
Assignment 3
Assignment Number:
100
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for OVM3701 — UNISA 2026
,UNISA | OVM3701 Enyobeni Tavern Disaster
Introduction
On 26 June 2022, twenty-one young people died inside the Enyobeni Tavern in East London,
Eastern Cape, during a hlanjwa iphepha (“pens down”) celebration marking the end of their
school examinations (Wikipedia, 2022). Four additional patrons sustained injuries. The deaths
were initially suspected to result from a crowd crush, but investigating authorities quickly
ruled this out. Subsequent toxicological analysis on 19 July 2022 confirmed that methanol
was present in the bodies of all twenty-one deceased, although authorities were still examin-
ing whether the detected levels were individually lethal or whether a combination of factors
contributed to death (ETD, 2022).
This assignment examines two interrelated pillars of the investigation. The first is the role of
expert forensic assistance at the crime scene, with specific attention to the fields of forensic
science that were applicable in this case. The second is the application of the cognitive inter-
view technique when gathering information from surviving victims and eyewitnesses, together
with the methods available for recording such interviews. The assignment draws on the facts
disclosed in the case study and supports its discussion with current academic literature and
South African institutional sources.
Page 2 of 19
, UNISA | OVM3701 Enyobeni Tavern Disaster
Definition of Concepts
Expert Assistance
Expert assistance in criminal investigation refers to the deployment of specialists with techni-
cal, scientific, or professional knowledge beyond the ordinary competence of a police investiga-
tor, to examine, analyse, and interpret evidence at a crime scene or in a laboratory (Du Pokoy,
2025). In South Africa, expert forensic evidence is admissible under section 210 of the Crimi-
nal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, provided it is relevant to a matter in dispute (Du Pokoy, 2025).
The weight assigned to such evidence is evaluated by the presiding officer at trial, meaning
that reliability is assessed ex post rather than at the admissibility stage.
Forensic Science
Forensic science is the systematic application of scientific principles and techniques to the
analysis of evidence, with the goal of assisting in criminal investigation and legal proceedings
(Wesco Forensic Services, 2023). The South African Academy of Forensic Sciences (SAAFS)
recognises seven broad categories of forensic practice aligned with the international Organ-
isation of Scientific Area Committees framework (SAAFS, 2025). These categories include,
among others, forensic pathology, forensic chemistry and toxicology, forensic biology, and
crime scene investigation.
Cognitive Interview
The cognitive interview (CI) is a structured questioning technique developed in 1984 by
Ronald Fisher and Edward Geiselman to improve the completeness and accuracy of infor-
mation retrieved from cooperative eyewitnesses and victims (Fisher and Geiselman, 1992). It
is grounded in the encoding specificity principle, which holds that memory retrieval is most
effective when the context at retrieval resembles the context at encoding (Wikipedia, 2025;
Fisher and Geiselman, 1992).
Crime Scene
A crime scene is any location where evidence pertaining to a criminal offence may be found.
In cases involving mass casualties or suspected poisoning, the crime scene extends beyond the
Page 3 of 19
