Mugabe case postponed due to court power outage, no fuel for generator

The bail application for the son of late Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe (28), and his co-accused Tobias Tamirepi Matonhodze (33), was postponed for the second time on Thursday, 5 March 2026, because of an electricity outage at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court. The bail application was originally scheduled for Tuesday, 3 March, but was postponed due to documentation issues.

The pair have been charged with possession of a firearm, attempted murder, and defeating the ends of justice in connection with the shooting of an employee at Mugabe’s Hyde Park residence on 19 February. The employee was admitted to hospital and remains in a critical condition.

Standing outside the dilapidated court where heavy rains filled potholes and washed sewage and rubbish down the streets, Mugabe’s lawyer Sinenhlanhla Mnguni told reporters that he was “disappointed” that the bail hearing had been suspended.

“I’d like to say that since Tuesday, we’ve been ready to proceed. We’ve been ready to proceed as well back on Monday last week. Of course, we understand these things are out of our hands,” Mnguni said.

On 3 March, the SABC reported that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had confirmed that two additional charges, of pointing a firearm and contravention of the Immigration Act, were expected to be presented in court. News24 further reported that these charges were related to a case that had been opened in 2023, and another in February 2026.

Mnguni stated that they were not new.

“The charges have been the same. I think there’s confusion in the media about additional charges because these charges have been in existence since the matter started,” he said.

Conditions at court ‘shocking’

Staff members at the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court told Daily Maverick that the electricity has been out the entire week. There is a generator on the property, but it has not been operational for at least six months.

DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille and DA Spokesperson for Justice and Constitutional Development and Member of Parliament, Glynnis Breytenbach, conducted a site visit to the court shortly after the bail application was dismissed to assess the service delivery issues in and around the court, including sewage issues and illegal dumping.

Breytenbach called the conditions “shocking”. She said that the courts she had assessed often lacked water, had locked toilets and generators that lacked fuel. Further, postponements made due to electricity outages placed further strain on a court system that already had severe backlogs.

“We understand that matters have had to be rolled over since Monday because there’s no electricity. We understand the generator, there is a generator, but it’s not working. This is justice delayed, justice denied,” she said.

“This is not acceptable. If you look at that road, there’s a [large pothole] there that could swallow quite a large car, and the filth running down the road now, because it’s raining, just means it’s being transported from here to somewhere else, but it’s not getting cleaned up. So these are not conditions where people should be living, and certainly not where you’re trying to access justice.”

Breytenbach added that following the site visit, she would engage with the chairperson of the portfolio committee on justice on Friday and ask him to arrange for Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, to report to Parliament about the conditions inside and outside the court and what assistance was needed to rectify them.

“It’s no good only blaming her. The buck stops with her, but we all have a responsibility to make sure that this improves, so we must do that,” Breytenbach said.

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On Wednesday, 4 March, Johannesburg’s Public Safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku performed a site visit to Alexandra following a public outcry over published images showing the decay outside the court.

“The MMC for Public Safety is actively coordinating with City Power, Joburg Water, Johannesburg Road Agency, and Citizen Relationship and Urban Management to mitigate the public health risk and restore dignity to affected residents at Alexandra Court. Multi-departmental teams are executing damage assessment, emergency sewer repair, and waste removal initiatives, ensuring rapid service restoration and community safety,” said Tshwaku on his official X account.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development did not respond to Daily Maverick’s request for comment.

Mugabe and Matonhodze will remain in custody until 11 March, when their bail application will proceed. DM