Alleged arsonist Zandile Christmas Mafe faces six charges including arson, theft, housebreaking, contravention of the National Key Points Act, and terrorism. Photo: Gallo Images/Daily Maverick/Leila Dougan
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The 49-year-old alleged Parliament fire accused Zandile Mafe’s defence team called for an urgent bail application on Saturday at 11am at the Western Cape High Court.
However, his bail hearing was postponed to next Saturday, 22 January, by Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe, who presided over the proceedings.
Mafe’s legal team is also challenging the order made by the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court confining him to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital for a 30-day mental observation. The matter will be heard in court on Tuesday, 18 January.
At the same time, the Hawks have confirmed that they are looking into more suspects in connection with the fire that gutted the buildings of Parliament on 2 January.
“We are still looking to check if there were other people who were involved,” said Hawks spokesperson Thandi Mbambo, adding that they could not divulge any information at this stage as investigations continued.
Mbambo was speaking to the media on Saturday outside the Western Cape High Court, where Mafe’s legal team appeared in court for his bail application.
Gauteng police have rearrested two of the six prisoners who escaped from custody on Friday morning.
The six awaiting trial prisoners escaped from custody after a police truck transporting them to Vosloorus Magistrate’s Court in Ekurhuleni was ambushed by three armed men with assault rifles.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said the two fugitives, Nkululeko Nkomo and Robert Hlatshwayo, were apprehended on Friday night in Olivenhoutbosch, Pretoria, at a petrol station.
Eight people were gunned down at a suspected drug den in Richmond on Friday night, and six counts of murder are being investigated in Inanda.
Residents reported hearing gunshots from a homestead at the Esigcakini Location at 21:00 on Friday.
When they arrived at the homestead, they discovered eight bodies and two people who had been wounded in the gunfire.
India’s Virat Kohli announced Saturday he was stepping down as Test captain, a day after his side lost a three-match series to South Africa.
“Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test captain of India, it’s now,” he posted on Twitter after seven years in the high-pressure position.
The 33-year-old Kohli, who quit as Twenty20 skipper after a debacle at the World Cup and then lost the one-day job, took over the India leadership across formats from MS Dhoni in 2017.
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