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24 October 2007

On 26 October 2007 the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, honourable Mrs Brigitte Mabandla, will be opening the Magistrate's Office of Madadeni, near Newcastle.

The event will also be graced by the presence of the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Sibusiso Ndebele and his cabinet.

The Madadeni Magistrate's Office is one of the oldest courts in the province of KwaZulu-Natal which has been operating from an old school building since 1972. It serves a population of about 600 000 people who live in the two townships and surrounding areas.

In order to provide a better service to the public, the new building will house five District Criminal Courts, one Regional Court, one Circuit Court of the Natal Division of the High Court, one Civil Court, Family Law Services, a Small Claims Court and Equality Court. History will be made when the High Court sits for the first time at Madadeni in November 2007.

This is one of the department's initiatives to provide access to justice by rural and peri-urban communities.

So far, 690 criminal cases, 1 211 domestic violence, 657 children's court and 455 maintenance matters have been registered at the court since the beginning of the this financial year.

Enquiries:
Brigitte Shabalala
Regional Head: KwaZulu-Natal
Cell: 082 461 5535

Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
24 October 2007
Source: SAPA