The case involving Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe and his co-accused Tobias Mathondze was postponed again on Thursday when the Alexandra magistrate’s court was left without electricity.
The matter, which relates to the shooting of a 23-year-old gardener at a Hyde Park home, had been scheduled for a bail application but could not proceed.
Defence lawyer Sinenhlanhla Mnguni said it was the second time this week that proceedings have been disrupted by a power outage at the court.
Mugabe, the son of late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, and Mathondze face charges of attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, two counts of pointing a firearm and contravention of the Immigration Act.
City Power confirmed to TimesLIVE that the Alexandra court is affected by a power outage.
City Power’s Lindiwe Langa said a technical team had been deployed to investigate the problem.
City Power said parts of Alexandra face power disruptions due to ongoing supply disconnections.
It said power was cut on February 19 after widespread tampering and illegal bridging of meters was detected on 9th Avenue between Rev Sam Buti Street and Richard Baloyi Street, and on 11th Avenue between John Nhlanhla Street and Richard Baloyi Street.
According to the utility, electricity will be suspended until full compliance is achieved in the affected areas.
Issac Mangena, City Power spokesperson, said the electricity interruption that affected the Alexandra magistrate court on March 5 was caused by a tripped transformer substation due to multiple illegal electricity connections made directly to the infrastructure by members of the surrounding community.
The utility said its technicians removed the illegal connections and restored power to the court between 11am and 12pm.
This article has been amended to include a response from City Power.
TimesLIVE
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