Durban - A power outage at the Verulam Magistrate's Court hampered proceedings on Tuesday as people were not allowed in and cases on the court roll were not heard.
Among the cases delayed on Tuesday morning was the first appearance of a 28-year-old man arrested for the murder of Roxanne Thanthoni who was found stabbed several times in her home on Sunday.
It was not known if the matter would be heard on Tuesday or not or if it would be moved to another court given the fact that by law the suspect is meant to appear in court within 48 hours.
According to a court official there had been no power since Monday night and it was not clear when it would be restored.
"It's very dark inside, even going up the stairs from the grids it's dark," said the official.
No one was allowed in court and everyone was forced to wait outside the court building.
The 28-year-old man was arrested on Sunday, hours after Roxanne Thanthoni was found murdered in her home.
Thanthoni, 31, had reportedly been having an argument with her alleged killer when her landlord, Ashwen Beerbel, heard screams emanating from the unit she was renting from him in Watsonia, oThongathi.
When he investigated, the suspect told him nothing was wrong as he pushed Thanthoni back into the room.
Beerbel noticed blood on the suspect. At that point, the man pushed past Beerbel, got into a car parked outside and sped off.
Beerbel walked in to make the gruesome discovery of Thanthoni bleeding profusely from several wounds. She had been stabbed several times in the chest and body.
Beerbel called security service Reaction Unit South Africa, who contacted the police and emergency services and alerted them to the situation.
However, when paramedics arrived, it was found that Thanthoni had died.