Alice Magistrate's Court still not operational
Frustrated officials at the Alice Magistrate's Court in the Eastern Cape wait in their cars to take turns in administering legal proceedings as only one courtroom in the precinct is operational.
A News24 report notes a large part of the precinct was damaged by a fire in March 2021 and several crucial documents were destroyed.
Three years later, the Department of Justice has yet to rebuild the damaged structures.
Only the Regional Court, which is in a separate building within the Magistrate's Court precinct, was spared. This is now used for all court proceedings, with officials saying the reconstruction delays severely impact their work.
‘Magistrates and prosecutors wait in their cars for their peers to complete court proceedings for their turns. This has been happening for three years. The department only delivered mobile structures, which has not helped the situation because in reality there is only one courtroom that is operational for bail hearings and trials,’ said an official at the court.
Security guards now perform the task of screening people at the gate, asking them details of the court cases they are attending before allowing them to enter the precinct.
Department of Justice spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi said a three-phased approach was adopted to address the continuity of operations while devising a plan to restore the damaged structure, adds the News24 report.
‘The first phase was to make safe the burnt structure by constructing a boundary fence and lateral support to the damaged building,’ she said. ‘The second phase was the relocation of park homes to site and minor repairs to the remainder of the functional areas of the facility. The contractor appointed never completed the work and the process to legally terminate the contract was finalised in May 2024. ‘The service provider to address the outstanding work was appointed on 3 September 2024.’
Masibi said the third phase would be the reconstruction of the damaged structure, and the Department of Public Works has been requested to do a condition assessment of the damaged structure to obtain a cost estimate for reconstruction.
‘Parallel to this process, a needs analysis has been conducted to determine any additions for smooth operations of the facility,’ she added.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
