Published:
The fire in the South African parliament has now been extinguished. The fire spread again Monday afternoon, causing further damage and then being brought under control overnight. The National Assembly was demolished, as did the old room in the original building at the end of the 19th century. We do not yet know the cause of the incident, but the only suspect was brought to court on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.
With our correspondent in Johannesburg, Romaine song
The charges against Zandile Christmas Mafia include theft, arson and installation of a bomb device. The 49-year-old lives in the city of Kailitsha. He was arrested when the fire broke out.
He is said to have entered the Parliament premises through the office window. Surveillance cameras caught him at around 2am, but no security guard was posted behind the surveillance screens to sound the alarm.
At the first hearing in court, the man did not explain why he was at the scene of the disaster, but admitted he was innocent. Dressed in a gray shirt and with his face covered, the suspect got lost among the cameras around him.
Zandile Christmas Mafe will be in jail until next Tuesday, the date of the next trial. It has been adjourned to next week for a full investigation. In fact, Restarting the fire Monday afternoon prevented experts from going to what is described as a “crime scene.” Meanwhile, opposition parties accuse the government of being negligent.
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