Water crisis derails justice at Soweto court

The Protea magistrate’s court in Soweto has been shut down from Monday until further notice due to a water crisis.

“The suspension is occasioned by problems of water supply due to damaged and ageing piping infrastructure,” said the justice department.

All matters that were scheduled at the court will be postponed, while members of the public who are supposed to appear before the court are advised to visit the court to secure new court appearance dates.

Justice services will, in the interim, be offered at Lenasia, Kliptown, Orlando and Meadowlands magistrates’ courts.

The department said it was working around the clock with the department of public works “to ensure speedy restoration of services and apologises for any inconvenience this may cause”.

This comes as the City of Johannesburg battles water outages that have affected hospitals.

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