The High Court in Pretoria has temporarily closed its doors due to water outages and non-functional generators. This closure follows a similar situation just a week earlier when the High Court in Johannesburg also shut down due to water shortages.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) advised the public, court officials, and legal practitioners that the court would temporarily cease operations because of water shortages.

This is due to load shedding in Pretoria CBD affecting the court and surrounding buildings.

“Affected parties will be contacted regarding alternative arrangements for all matters scheduled on the court roll for the day. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement reads.

The city has also apologised to residents for the inconvenience caused by the power outages, assuring them that technicians are actively addressing the issue.

“The city is aware of a power outage affecting parts of the Pretoria CBD and Marabastad. A 132kV transformer has tripped at Boom Street Substation. Technicians are attending.

“The city apologises for the inconvenience caused by this unplanned interruption of power supply,” it said.

It said the estimated time of restoration will only be determined once the cause of the trip is identified and fixed.

The closure of the High Court in Johannesburg, along with the North Gauteng High Court in Tshwane, affects two of the busiest and largest courts in the country.

Among the cases impacted is the Democratic Alliance's (DA) appeal to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) regarding the ongoing water crisis.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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