Trials move to Alice regional court after magistrate's court burns down

Trials that were scheduled to be heard in the Alice magistrate's court will be moved to the Alice regional court.

This comes after the magistrate's court was gutted by fire on Friday afternoon.

On Monday, department of justice and constitutional development spokesperson Steve Mahlangu said stakeholders agreed on the arrangement in a meeting at the weekend.

“All documents and services required for court proceedings will be retrieved from the backup system at the Middledrift magistrate's court and destroyed files will be reconstructed,” said Mahlangu.

“Bail payments and payouts will be made at the Middledrift magistrate's court. An office was identified at the regional court for handling matters relating to domestic violence.”

Talks are “at an advanced stage” for children's court matters to be heard at local social development offices.

DispatchLIVE