Zandile Mafe's case postponed as forensic reports from parliament fire still outstanding

Anthony Molyneaux Lead video journalist
Alleged parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe.
Alleged parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe.
Image: Esa Alexander

The man accused of setting parliament on fire, Zandile Mafe, appeared briefly in the Cape Town magistrate’s court on Thursday. However, state advocate Mervyn Menigo told the court that forensic reports were still outstanding and requested the matter be postponed to June 9.

Mafe was arrested on January 2 after the fire that ravaged the National Assembly.

He was silent throughout and nodded as the proceedings were translated to him by the court interpreter.

Mafe’s lawyer Luvuyo Godla was upset by the delay. “If we talk about an incident that happened on January 2 and now it’s almost mid-2022 yet we [are] still postponing the matter due to outstanding forensic reports — it's not right,” he said.

However, magistrate Ronel Oliver accepted the reasons for the request and postponed the case to June 9.

TimesLIVE

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