Suspect in South Africa's Parliament fire appears in court

Zandile Christmas Mafe faces several charges including arson, theft, housebreaking and contravention of the National Key Points Acts

January 04, 2022 05:36 pm | Updated 05:36 pm IST - Johannesburg

Zandile Christmas Mafe, a suspect accused of breaking into Parliament when the fire started, appears in the Cape Town Magistrate Court, in Cape Town, South Africa, January 4, 2022.

Zandile Christmas Mafe, a suspect accused of breaking into Parliament when the fire started, appears in the Cape Town Magistrate Court, in Cape Town, South Africa, January 4, 2022.

The man suspected of starting the fire that gutted South Africa's parliament buildings appeared in court Tuesday and will remain in custody pending a bail hearing.

Zandile Christmas Mafe faces several charges including arson, theft, housebreaking and contravention of the National Key Points Acts, which restricts access to government buildings, according to the local Eye Witness News website.

Mr Mafe's lawyer said he denies the charges. Mr Mafe was arrested on the premises of the Parliament complex by police after they noticed the fire Sunday morning.

The Parliament complex in the center of Cape Town includes some buildings that are 130 years old.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila told journalists outside court that Mr Mafe was also found with an explosive device, but didn't give further details.

Police haven't ruled out the possibility of more arrests, said Nomthandazo Mbambo, spokesman for the Hawks special investigative unit of the police.

“We're going to be conducting a full investigation and we think there may be other people involved but at this stage, the focus is on this one until the investigation can dictate otherwise,” Mbabmbo told media outside the courtroom.

The fire destroyed South Africa's main Parliament chamber, offices and other buildings nearby on Sunday. It flared up again Monday when winds picked up and burned through other offices. Firefighters battled the renewed blaze until midnight, officials said.

Parliament was closed for the holidays and no injuries have been reported in the fire.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.