Alleged Tembisa Hospital arsonist's bail bid postponed

The alleged Tembisa Hospital arsonist is a groundsman at the Sizwe Tropical Diseases Hospital in Johannesburg. 

Thembinkosi Manqunyana, 48, was arrested on May 9 while he was at work, his lawyer Xolani Pangwa confirmed.

Manqunyana made a brief appearance at the Tembisa magistrate’s court on charges of malicious damage to property and arson for two fires that caused severe damage at the hospital in mid-April.

His matter was postponed to Friday for the director of public prosecutions to decide which section of the Criminal Procedure Act his offences fall under.

This is because the state prosecutor and defence attorney could not agree on the relevant section, which would have a bearing on the accused’s bail application.

“It [arson] is written in black and white [as a schedule one offence] in the CPA [Criminal Procedure Act], and this is his first case,” Pangwa said.  

“It [a postponement] will affect him negatively. He has a family and kids who depend on him, so a week’s postponement is a lot,” Pangwa said.

Manqunyana allegedly confessed to having started the fires at the hospital.

The first fire started at the accident and emergency unit on April 19, followed by another four days later, which severely disrupted services and left outpatients and chronic patients without essential medical care at the time.

Police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said last week that Manqunyana’s arrest came “after the provincial commissioner of police in Gauteng, Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni, appointed a team of seasoned detectives to conduct an investigation” after the fires at the hospital.

“More arrests are imminent as the investigation continues,” Masondo said.

A police report sent to Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said that Manqunyana gave a detailed confession with regards to the “planning, payment, purchase of petrol used and preparation and execution of the act”.

Manqunyana allegedly confessed that he gained entry to the hospital through the fence and that the “head of security also participated in the commission of the offence”.

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