Parliament arson: Zandile Mafe to spend Christmas in jail after hearing postponed

Alleged Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe will spend Christmas in jail after his pre-trial hearing was postponed to 27 January 2023.

Parliament arson accused

Mafe was in the dock in the Western Cape High Court on Friday following his refusal to appear in court on two previous dates in August and September.

At the time, his lawyer Luvuyo Godla informed the court that Mafe had gone on a hunger strike and demanded a television set and radio to watch and listen to the news.

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He also demanded a kettle to make himself coffee and warm water to take baths because the water at Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town was allegedly cold.

Psychiatric evaluation

During Mafe’s court appearance on Friday, Godla requested that the pre-trial hearing be postponed because he wanted to consult his client on the contents of a memory stick and the State’s latest bid to conduct another psychiatric evaluation.

Earlier this year in May, the Western Cape High Court set aside the State’s previous psychiatric evaluation by a district surgeon that had diagnosed Mafe with paranoid schizophrenia.

The high court found that the referral was “substantively and procedurally flawed” and resulted in “a gross irregularity”.

Godla also confirmed to the media that Mafe had received a Kenwood kettle and a TV set as per his previous demands.

The 49-year-old has been in custody since January, since he was arrested in connection with the Parliament fire on 2 January 2022, which destroyed the Old and New Assembly buildings.

He faces charges of housebreaking with intent to commit arson and arson, terrorism and theft.

Bail appeal

At the same time, Mafe is appealing the dismissal of his bail application at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

The appeal followed the Cape Town Regional Court’s judgment in February, which ruled that the defence failed to prove exceptional circumstances as to why he should be released on bail.

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