NHLANGANO – The judicial crisis in the Shiselweni Region has escalated dramatically, moving from a severe staffing and backlog problem to an urgent public safety threat.
The Nhlangano Magistrates Court was served with a final notice threatening the condemnation and closure of the court premises.
The notice, titled: ‘Rentention to condemn and close magistrates court building’ was issued by the Nhlangano Town Council on November 13, 2025. It follows a mandatory environmental health inspection of the court premises, which was conducted on the same day. The inspection, according to the document, was initiated ‘due to public outcry regarding the prolonged lack of water supply and the non-functioning of ablution facilities’.
The author of the notice, Mpendulo Mhlanga, the Environment and Public Health Manager of the Town Council stated that he had observed numerous serious structural and safety defects during the inspection, noting that these defects, many of which were previously documented in prior engagements, significantly compromise the health and safety of the public and court employees and are in direct contravention of the Public Health Act, 1969 read together with the Building Act of 1968.
The letter detailed the specific conditions that pose immediate risks and require urgent remediation and they include a failure of sanitation, specified as the non-functioning of ablutions due to a sustained lack of water supply.
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