South African prosecutors have revealed that the man accused of causing a devastating fire at the Parliament house confessed to starting the fire in an event that shocked the nation in early January this year.
The 49-year-old suspect, Zandile Christmas Mafe, was arrested on the morning of January 2, 2022 inside the historic building while firefighters were still battling the blaze.
The man, who is believed to be homeless, was taken into custody and appeared in Cape Town on Saturday, January 29, 2022 for a bail application. The hearing was broadcast live on television.
In an affidavit read during the hearing, Christmas Mafe said that setting fire to parliament was “the right thing to do because it does not help the citizens of South Africa”.
The suspect also told investigators that he did it to prevent President Cyril Ramaphosa from delivering a speech to the nation scheduled for February and to demand his resignation, the release of the murderer of an anti-apartheid fighter, and 95 dollars in assistance for all South Africans with no income.
Firefighters struggled for more than 48 hours to bring the fire under control, which caused no casualties “but totally destroyed the National Assembly”. Cyril Ramaphosa called the act a “futile attempt” to threaten democracy.
Security lapses and failures in firefighting systems
Since his arrest, a few individuals have pointed out the security lapses and failures in firefighting systems. An investigation had earlier revealed that the fire-fighting system was defective and maintenance was not up to date. Furthermore, the presence of Christmas Mafe on the premises was not detected until several hours later.
However, the prosecutor’s office said it had CCTV footage showing a man, dressed as Christmas Mafe at the time of his arrest, “setting fire to the parliament building with paper and cans soaked in petrol”. With a soda bottle filled with petrol in his hand, “this person tore curtains to start the fire,” the prosecution said.
At an earlier hearing, Mpofu said Christmas Mafe had been diagnosed as a “paranoid schizophrenic”. But the defence refused a new psychiatric assessment that would exonerate him. The defendant now faces life imprisonment.
Fire in South Africa’s Parliament
On Sunday, January 2, 2022, fire erupted at the South African parliament building in Cape Town, with flames bursting from the roof of a building and a plume of smoke that were seen from miles away.
The fire was believed to have started in one of the older buildings in the precinct, leading to a security cordon near the cathedral where the ashes of the anti-apartheid hero, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, were buried on Saturday, January 1, 2022.
Images broadcast on television showed flames leaping from the roof of one large building, while several others in the parliament precinct including the National Assembly were enveloped in a thick cloud of black smoke.
Firefighters arrived at the building a few minutes after receiving the initial call at 06:12 local time (04:12 GMT) on Sunday, January 2, 2022, the City Fire Services said, as large flames and a huge column of smoke engulfed parts of the compound.
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