Left with no option but to flout curfew regulations —  with some even sleeping under a bridge to bag an early spot in the front of the queue — hundreds of Nelson Mandela Bay residents, most mourning the loss of a loved one, have stood for hours outside the office of the master of the high court only to be turned away again and again.

Returning time after time, Noxolo Oyo, 23, of Motherwell, spent the better part of Thursday stationed outside the Govan Mbeki Avenue building after arriving at 2am...