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WATCH: Zandile Mafe says he did burn Parliament, threatens to do it again
Mafe called for Parliament to be moved to Bloemfontein and threatened more arson
Zandile Mafe, who has been remanded in the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison for several weeks, took centre stage in court. Picture: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe burst into a rant while appearing in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday, admitting that he was responsible for the Parliament fire. He also called the Democratic Alliance (DA) racists and murderers.
Mafe, who has been remanded in the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison for several weeks, took centre stage when he returned to the dock.
The court had ordered that a psychiatrist assess him to determine whether he’s able to follow court proceedings and understand the gravity of his charges.
Watch Zandile Mafe’s outburst in court:
Outburst
Mafe’s appearance was filled with drama. He stepped into court calling for Parliament to be moved to Bloemfontein and threatened to set fire to the building again if it didn’t move.
“You must take it into Bloemfontein, that Parliament, or Pretoria. It must move. It must be relocated. I burnt it intentionally. Me, Christmas Zandile Mafe. I’m going to burn it more if it doesn’t move to Bloemfontein or Pretoria.”
DA racist and killers
He also called the DA “racists” and “murderers”.
“DA are killers, are murderers. They kill blacks… Helen Zille is just a racist right wing…”
ALSO READ: Zandile Mafe’s psychiatric report remains sealed as case postponed to July
Psychiatric observation
Last month, Judge Nathan Erasmus indicated during the court proceedings that he had received the report from Fort England Psychiatric Hospital.
Mafe was sent for a 30-day psychiatric observation at the Fort England Psychiatrics’ Hospital in the Eastern Cape after he refused to go to a Cape Town hospital.
Legal team
Erasmus also noted that Mafe’s legal team, consisting of Luvuyo Godla and Advocate Dali Mpofu, could not consult with their client due to him being in a different province.
Mpofu told the judge he would have to consult with Mafe before making a determination on whether the defence would dispute the findings of the report.
Mafe has been charged with terrorism, arson, housebreaking and theft following the fire that destroyed the National Assembly chamber in January last year.
The case against Mafe has been postponed to the 10 August.
ALSO READ: Police open inquest docket into Joemat-Pettersson’s death
