Concern over Alex court as Mugabe bail hearing stalls again due to power outage

Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament, Glynis Breytenbach, has announced plans to urgently raise concerns with the Minister of Justice following yet another postponement at the Alexandra Magistrate's Court.

The delays, driven by ongoing electricity problems, have effectively paralysed legal proceedings at the facility.

The high-profile case involving Bellarmine Mugabe, the youngest son of the late Robert Mugabe, was once again stalled because the court has been without electricity for at least a week.

Mugabe and his co-accused, Tonias Matondze, face charges for allegedly shooting an employee at Mugabe’s Hyde Park residence last month.

The pair were expected to bring a formal bail application on Thursday. However, proceedings could not continue for the second time this week.

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The power outage has not only affected this specific case but has resulted in the mass postponement of multiple matters on the court roll.

Breytenbach was present at the court on an oversight visit following a series of complaints regarding the building's "state of decline."

She noted that while the court is equipped with a generator, the equipment is currently useless.

"Well, it’s ongoing and unacceptable. We’ll certainly be raising this with the minister on an urgent basis," Breytenbach stated.

"I will have a discussion with the chair of our portfolio committee to call the minister urgently. This is not the only court that has a generator with no fuel. Either the generator is broken or there is no fuel, which is not helpful; you might as well not have a generator."

The DA MP emphasised that these systemic failures are a significant barrier to the administration of justice, signalling a broader trend of infrastructure neglect within the department.