Terrorism accused Zandile Christmas Mafe incriminated himself when he appeared in the Western Cape High Court.
TERRORISM accused Zandile Christmas Mafe incriminated himself when he appeared in the Western Cape High Court.
The Khayelitsha man was arrested on January 2 last year after Parliament was set alight.
It was alleged that he gained entry into the empty building and stole some property, including laptops, shoes and cutlery.
Mafe left his shack and was on the streets at the time of the arson.
He was taken into custody hours after the fire started.
On Thursday, he confessed to setting the National Assembly alight.
He was caught on camera shouting: “Move this Parliament to Bloemfontein or Pretoria, here this Parliament, I burnt it intentionally, me Zandile Christmas Mafe.
“I’m going to burn it even more if it doesn’t move … from the white, racist, right-wing DA, the DA must not be in Parliament, they are killers, they kill blacks.
“The service delivery protest which is occurring outside is about my release.”
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Mafe would be unable to follow court proceedings and make a proper defence as he was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
“Judge Nathan Erasmus, presiding over the case, said this in the high court of South Africa: Western Cape division yesterday morning but he refused to disclose the diagnosis by a panel of three experts who observed Mafe over 30 days at Fort England Psychiatric Hospital in the Eastern Cape.
“The State charged Mafe with housebreaking with intent to commit arson, and arson, terrorism and theft after he burnt down Parliament, destroying the Old and New Assembly Building of Parliament between January 1 and 2, 2022.
“In a rant that ran for more than 15 minutes on different occasions during the sitting, Mafe told the court that he burnt down Parliament and he would burn it down again unless it was moved to Bloemfontein or Pretoria. He also made political statements stating that protests in the country happened because of his incarceration.”
Ntabazalila explained the defence counsel requested a six-week postponement for them to get a psychiatrist of their choice who will consult with Mafe.
“The defence told the court that they struggled to get a psychiatrist to assist them, but eventually managed to secure one. The case has been postponed until August 10.
Cape Argus
