The day Mhlauli saw black

Black has been described as a symbol of despair. But black is just a colour. Moroka happened to have been wearing a suit of this colour or was he? Was this a bad omen?

Judgement was meant to have been delivered at 2pm. At the top the of hour, all the seats had been taken and much of the floor. Others decided to stand behind the courtroom benches while some stood on the doorways. There was silence. The kind that obtains at funerals or at mourning services. Usually the people in court are chatty before the magistrate steps in but not on this Thursday afternoon.