KaBokweni court in shambles and disarray

Toilets that must be flushed using yogurt containers full of water, collapsed ceilings and the stench of rotting carpets.

These are a few of the conditions the staff and members of the public have to contend with at the KaBokweni Magistrate’s Office on a daily basis.

Since a massive rainstorm hit the township early in February, little, if anything, has been done by either the Department of Public Works (DPW) or the Department of Justice to improve the conditions in this flooded building.

The rain poured through the roof and walls, mainly due to the blocked gutters running along the centre of the roof.

ALSO READ: City of Mbombela property valuation discrepancies questioned

Urgent calls to the DPW for assistance at the time were ignored, and the staff had to scramble around in an attempt to move furniture out of the way, save documents and dockets, and ensure the computer systems were not damaged.

They also used brooms to sweep away the water covering the floors of the double-storey building. Due to the flooding, some employees were moved to temporary offices elsewhere.

The ceilings in court B and in some of the offices on the first floor eventually collapsed. Since then, none of the carpets have been cleaned and workers from the DPW have allegedly only sprinkled carpet cleaning powder throughout the building to mask the smell.

One court is currently operational. Most of the paintwork and wood cladding in the courts are waterlogged and damaged. The telephone system is still out of order.

ALSO READ: Mpumalanga High Court postpones rhino poaching and money laundering trial

“We have to use our own cellphones to communicate with the outside world,” a court clerk, who wished to remain anonymous, told Lowvelder.

According to a report drawn up by inspectors from the Department of Labour during a health and safety inspection a few days after the storm, large parts of the building are unsafe. These include one of the courtrooms, some offices and the six holding cells in the basement.

According to a member of the public who visited the magistrate’s offices and requested to remain anonymous, the holding cells are in a dilapidated state due to the water damage. There is no electricity and the cell doors cannot be locked, forcing suspects to sit on the stairs leading to the two courts before appearing. This creates great danger not only for staff, prosecutors and magistrates, but also for members of the public.

Another major problem identified in the report was the supply of water to the complex. Leaking pipes were reported more than three years ago. The DPW tried to resolve the crisis by spending hundreds of thousands of rands to sink a borehole and install a 10 000L water tank. This system was only operational for a few weeks when the pressure dropped and water began streaming from the tank and the new reticulation system.

ALSO READ: Hilltop farmer battles against alleged land invaders in court

Since then a quotation for the repairs was handed to the DPW, but no approval has been forthcoming. Lowvelder reliably learnt that the magistrate’s court currently spends about R1 000 per day of its petty cash to buy water. The tank runs dry within five to six hours.

Despite in loco inspections by members of DPW as well as the Department of Justice, Thami Mchunu, the spokesperson for the DPW, insists that all problems at the court were attended to.

“A service provider was appointed to fix the leaking roof. About 90% of the work is complete.”

This, however, is refuted by the court’s employees.

“Because of the many other challenges at the court, the DPW advised the client [the Department of Justice] to register a repair and renovation project for the long term,” Mchunu said.

The problems were brought to the attention of Judge Francis Legodi, judge president of Mpumalanga. The concerns were viewed and an emergency meeting between all the stakeholders involved was called. The results will be communicated as soon as a response has been received.