Zandile Mafe’s legal team set to challenge his referral for mental observation

Alleged Parliament arsonist Zandile Christmas Mafe’s legal team is set to return to the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday afternoon, to challenge the order made by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court for him to be sent for mental observation.

This follows the postponement of Mafe’s urgent bail application to Saturday, 22 January, by Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe.

Mafe’s mental observation

Bail application postponed

At the weekend, Hlophe told the state and defence that a review of a decision taken by a magistrate or another judge could not be presided by a single judge as he was the only judge on duty on Saturday.

Hlophe said he had organised for another judge to hear the review application, which he set for Tuesday afternoon at 4pm.

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Mafe, 49, faces sixth charges, including a charge of terrorism, over the fire that gutted the Parliament buildings on 2 January.

His legal team is challenging the order made by the magistrate’s court confining him to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital in Cape Town for a 30-day mental observation.

The lower court had ordered that Mafe be admitted for mental observation after a report from district surgeon Dr Zelda van Tonder revealed Mafe had schizophrenia with paranoia (previously referred to as paranoid schizophrenia).

The defence opposed this arguing that the decision to put their client under psychiatric evaluation was unlawful.

Hunger strike

As part of his protest against the referral and request for his bail to be heard, Mafe threatened to go on hunger strike as he was entitled to bail.

Should the high court rule in the defence’s favour over the review application, Mafe would be moved from Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital to Pollsmoor Prison.

Eric Ntabazalila, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Western Cape, said after hearing the parties’ arguments on Tuesday, the judges were likely to make an order by the end of the day which would pave the way for the bail application to be heard next Saturday.

Meanwhile, it emerged on Monday that Mafe had tested positive for Covid-19 while at Valkenberg Hospital.

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe.

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