An inquiry into the infrastructure issues at the Durban Magistrate’s Court has revealed a plethora of issues.
The inquiry revealed that these issues, which included non-functioning lifts, had a negative impact on the expeditious finalisation of court matters.
After a week-long inquiry and several witnesses, Acting Regional Court President KZN Meerchand (Anand) Maharaj, ruled that the efficiency and effectiveness of the court was being compromised as a result of these systemic problems.
The constant malfunction of the prisoners’ lifts was the reason for this inquiry.
A murder-accused was unable to attend a court case on the 10th floor due to the malfunctioning lift for prisoners which prompted the inquiry.
The matter was due to be heard in Maharaj’s court and hence a Section 342A inquiry was initiated.
The Section 342A inquiry entails that the court before which criminal proceedings are pending shall investigate any delays in the completion of proceedings which appears to the court to be unreasonable and which could cause substantial prejudice to the prosecutors, the accused or his or her legal adviser, the State or a witness.
During this inquiry, witness Gonam Govender, a Captain in the South African Police (SAPS) and “Grill Commander” at the Durban Magistrate's Court testified that the issue of the prisoners’ lifts have been ongoing for many, many years.
Govender, who worked at the courthouse for 30 years, said it had “become extreme” in the past two years because only one lift is in operation.
During her testimony, Govender said the lift broke down about seven times a day, and that prisoners cannot be taken to court at 9am.
She further testified that the one lift has extensive water damage but she cannot say from where the water originates.
An average of 160 prisoners - charged for crimes ranging from murder, rape and robbery - come to court on a daily basis.
She told the inquiry that the police are not authorised to take prisoners in the public lifts or walk up the stairs because of security concerns for police and the public.
She said the courts cannot operate if the prisoners’ lifts are not working. In addition, many times police officers were trapped in lifts with prisoners and there were no failsafe mechanisms in place.
She further revealed that there is no emergency light in the lifts and this can be unsafe for her members as the CCTV installed has not been working for the last three years.
In addition to non-functional lifts, Govender revealed the plumbing issues that affected the usage of the prisoners’ toilets.
Govender said this caused a “terrible stench” from the grilles to the courts and cited these issues as a health hazard to the police officers and prisoners.
Durban Magistrate’s Court manager Kritish Prag gave a detailed account of all the issues being experienced with the building.
He conceded that there were challenges with the prisoners’ lifts for a few months. During March and June, it had broken down 17 times, leading to delays in court cases.
This, he said, included the High Court which occupies the 12th floor of the building.
The Durban High Court is currently being renovated. He said the new contractor appointed is unsure if he will be able to fix the lifts.
He said the previous contractor advised him that the lifts require major parts from overseas and this was causing the delay, despite him escalating these issues several times.
Prag told the inquiry that pipes were stolen from the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh floors which interrupted the water supply to these floors.
He also testified about the water flooding in the grilles housing the prisoners.
“The fire-line of the building has been switched off from January 2023. The fire department, after conducting an inspection, gave Public Works until the end of business of January 25, 2023 to get the fire-line fixed, but nothing has been done.”
Prag said there is no emergency lighting for people to walk down the flight of stairs which was also picked up by the fire department.
This means people have to walk in darkness in the absence of any other light source.
The Department of Public Works’ regional manager said he had compiled an action plan to solve the problems in the building.
Maharaj found the delays unreasonable.
“More so, that the building is an unsafe building and a fire trap which poses huge risk for the safety of the users of this building. The same applies to all the lifts in the building.
“Clearly, one cannot say that the lack of money is an impediment when the lives of all court users are at risk. This beggars belief.”
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said the judgment was noted.
“We are studying it further. The Department has put in place a turnaround plan and is working with the Department of Justice in responding to the challenges.”
Mabaso said the department had completed the refurbishment of the floors that accommodate the High Court judges and were now focused on other items.
“It must be noted that Public Works department delivers according to the budget it receives from client departments.”
He said they were committed to enhance access to justice by providing habitable building lifts which have been included in the list for modernisation.
“This project is being planned for and managed by DPWI head office, funding for the planning for this project has been approved and planning will commence in due course.”
He said with regard to the theft of copper pipes and cables, a contractor had been appointed to fix them, but this was a criminal matter reported to the police.
“Electricians have been deployed and will be finding long-term solutions to electricity challenges.”
He said the issue of burst pipes was due to ageing infrastructure.
“Calls are responded to, but procurement instructions have been prepared, advising the client department owning the property of the need for major replacements of corroded pipes.”
He said a major planned project for the court has been prioritised, with DPWI head office and Justice Department finalising the plans.
IOL News