eMalahleni court power outage delays bail hearing for 3 murder accused
Civil rights group All Voices Matter has condemned the lack of back-up electricity at the eMalahleni court, warning that municipal infrastructure failures delay justice for victims' families.
Three people accused of killing Lynnville resident Vusimuzi Radebe remain in custody after a blackout halted proceedings at the eMalahleni Magistrate’s Court.
Nkosinathi Samkelo Masinga (31), Queenath Skosana (39), and Lassy Phahlamohlala (42) were scheduled to proceed with their formal bail application on October 12, but the matter was halted by the power failure.
The case has been postponed to October 14.
Vigilantism allegations
The trio remains in custody in connection with the death of Radebe (40), who died after allegedly being assaulted by a mob in Lynnville on September 19.
According to police, officers responded to a complaint of alleged vigilantism and found Radebe lying on the ground with visible injuries. Emergency medical services declared him dead at the scene, and a murder case was opened.
Read more:Emalahleni court hears bail application of trio in Lynnville murder case
Radebe’s family has maintained that he was innocent and may have been mistaken for someone involved in criminal activity. The family has continued to seek answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Outrage over court infrastructure
Following the postponement, advocacy organisation All Voices Matter expressed disappointment that the bail application could not proceed.
“All Voices Matter is disappointed that the Vusi Radebe bail application could not proceed today at the eMalahleni court due to a power outage. The case has been postponed to October 14,” said the organisation’s founder, Abongile Mcoki.
Mcoki questioned how a major court facility could be left unable to continue proceedings because of a power failure.
Read more:Calls for justice intensify as DA and Emalahleni speaker condemn Radebe killing
“It is unacceptable that a major court does not have back-up power in 2026. We call on the municipality and the Department of Justice to ensure electricity supply is restored and contingency measures are in place by Wednesday, as these delays deny justice to victims and the community,” Mcoki said.
Three behind bars as the Vusimuzi Radebe murder case returns to Emalahleni Magistrate’s Court. Read more here: https://t.co/vW0SufnSXO https://t.co/FlLxsDAXNu
— WitbankNews (@WitbankN) September 29, 2026
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