Msunduzi Municipality Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla. Picture: Msunduzi Municipality
Durban — The Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court found itself in a state of disarray on Tuesday, as a sudden power outage plunged proceedings into darkness.
This incident interrupted several important court matters, including the high-profile case of Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) official Musawenkosi Mnikathi, who is facing allegations of election fraud stemming from the tumultuous May 29 elections.
The power failure, which hit the Central Business District (CBD) during working hours, was due to an electrical trip at the Retief Primary substation.
In addition to halting court operations, the outage also contributed to a worsening water crisis that had already been affecting many areas of the city.
Mnikathi, who was arrested in July after being allegedly found with unsupervised ballot boxes, had been under scrutiny by the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), which alleged that irregularities marred the election process.
The MKP’s Reggie Ngcobo said the party would continue to monitor Mnikathi’s case closely.
“We are not letting him off the hook. We will always be in court when he appears because we want to see this case to its end and see how the elections were rigged,” he said.
His case is one among many that were postponed in the court's unexpected evacuation, which caused a significant gathering of concerned residents at the entrance of the building.
Msunduzi Mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla addressed the broader implications of the power outage on the city’s economy, acknowledging the inconvenience caused to residents.
“We apologise to the people who reside in our city for the power outage we suffered,” said Thebolla.
He assured the public that the municipality's electricians responded rapidly to address the electricity issues and pledged to implement measures to avert future outages.
On the persistent water crisis facing the city, Thebolla said,
“We have been battling the water crisis for a long time. We are fighting hard to resolve the water issues that have been affecting many of our areas.”
Alongside Mnikathi’s election fraud case, two other significant matters were postponed.
One involved a Northdale pastor and former school principal accused of sexually assaulting a church member, and another concerning two Pietermaritzburg police officers arrested for aggravated robbery two weeks ago.
The court has indicated that new dates for these cases will be communicated to the representatives of the accused and the State.
WhatsApp your views on this story at 071 485 7995.
Daily News