Court Power Failure Halts Usindiso Fire Trial Until 2026

A failed generator at Palm Ridge Magistrates Court brought the Usindiso Building fire trial to a halt this week, forcing Judge Cassim Moosa to postpone proceedings until 12 August 2026.

The power failure was total. Electricity went out across the entire area, and the court facility’s backup generator did not function, leaving no means to continue. “Sadly, no matters can proceed today in the courtroom because there’s no electricity at all in the entire area, and the generator is also non-functional,” Moosa stated from the bench. “So essentially, we’ve got no electricity and no matter can therefore proceed in the circumstances.” The matter was rescheduled to the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, sitting at Palm Ridge Magistrates Court, for the state’s planned application.

The accused, Sithembiso Mdlalose, was absent from court when the postponement was announced and remained in custody. He faces 76 counts of murder, 12 counts of attempted murder, and one count of arson arising from the fire that consumed the Usindiso Building in Marshalltown on 31 August 2023. Seventy-six people died and 12 were injured, making it one of South Africa’s deadliest urban fires.

The case has drawn sustained public attention since Mdlalose initially implicated himself. Testifying before a commission of inquiry in January 2024, he allegedly confessed to starting the blaze. The state’s account holds that Mdlalose became involved in a violent altercation with a fellow resident known as “KB” over money linked to drugs, believed KB was dead after the assault, purchased petrol, returned to the building, and set KB alight to conceal evidence. The flames spread rapidly through the occupied five-storey structure, trapping residents inside.

Mdlalose later reversed his position entirely, pleading not guilty and disputing the circumstances of his confession. He claimed he was under the influence of drugs when he made the admission and subsequently gave evidence that the confession was false. His legal team challenged its admissibility.

In May 2025, Judge Moosa ruled the confession admissible, finding it had been made freely and voluntarily while Mdlalose was in a sound and sober state. That ruling cleared a significant procedural hurdle. By contrast, complications emerged shortly after, when the court was informed that discrepancies in the numbering of post-mortem records and photographs required resolution before judgment could be delivered, introducing yet another delay to an already extended timeline.

The Usindiso fire broke out in the early hours of 31 August 2023. The hijacked building housed hundreds of residents, many of whom were trapped as flames advanced through the structure. Some were forced to jump from windows. The disaster prompted a national reckoning over hijacked buildings, unsafe living conditions, and the responsibilities of authorities and property owners. A commission of inquiry led by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe was established to investigate the circumstances of the catastrophe.

This week’s infrastructure failure, a non-functional generator in a building hosting high-court proceedings, is the latest operational obstacle in a case already marked by procedural complications. For the families of the 76 victims and the survivors, it is another delay in a wait that has already stretched years. Whether the August 2026 date holds will depend, in part, on whether the courts can resolve both the evidentiary discrepancies and the basic facility reliability that proceedings require.