On Friday, a Cape Town magistrate ruled that Zandile Mafe, the man accused of the Parliament fire, be kept in prison until the commencement of his trial.
UPDATE: Court postpones case, allows State to complete investigations
The Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, on Friday 11 February 2022, granted the State a six-week delay in Mafe’s Parliament fire case.
From what we understand, the State is finalising the forensic aspect of its investigation, which includes examinations of the clothes Mafe wore on the day of the fire and his cellphone records.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, State attorneys want to determine if Mafe was, perhaps, encouraged to torch South Africa’s seat of democracy.
Mafe will remain in custody until 25 March 2022, when he’s due to return to the docks. His defence team will launch an appeal with the Western Cape High Court, in a bid to overturn his bail dismissal.
Read the original story below:
Zandile Mafe bail denied – Here’s why
Mafe, a homeless man who has since morphed into a martyr of sorts, was removed from Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital after Judge John Hlophe, in January 2022, awarded his defence victory in its appeal against an earlier judgment that deemed it necessary for the defendant to be held at a correctional facility for the criminally insane.
Since then, the alleged arsonist, accused of starting the fire that caused irreparable damage to South Africa’s parliament, Mafe has been held at Polsmoor prison.
On Friday, after receiving arguments from both sides of the bench, Magistrate Michelle Adams concluded the defendant had not produced exceptional substantiation for his release.
From what we understand, if Mafe was to be released on bail, he would either have to return to his family home in Mahikeng, North West, or to his informal house in Khayelitsha where, he told the court, he’d watch DStv until the trial begins.
The State, however, urged the court against his release, citing that not only did the alleged arsonist confess to his crimes, he also allegedly made it abundantly clear to investigating officers that he would continue on his crime spree when he’s out.
State prosecutor Mervyn Menigo also informed the court that Mafe’s motives for torching Parliament included pushing for the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa, the release of Chris Hani’s murderer, Janusz Walus and a mandatory R1 500 social grant for the homeless.
Mafe, on the other hand, vehemently dismissed the state’s psychiatric examination that diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. In his opinion, the case against him is a personal attack orchestrated by a government hiding secrets from its people.
This claim, and other motivations he made for his release, were insufficient. Mafe will be held in police custody until his next appearance on Friday 11 February 2022.