A man charged with terrorism for setting a fire that badly damaged South Africa’s Parliament building last year said in a courtroom rant today that he “burned it intentionally.”
Shouting and pointing his finger, Zandile Mafe said he was going to “burn it more” if the Parliament was not moved from Cape Town — South Africa’s legislative capital — to either the city of Pretoria — South Africa’s administrative capital — or the city of Bloemfontein — where its top court sits.
The huge blaze he set badly damaged the historic Parliament complex last year as it ripped through multiple buildings, including the main chamber where lawmakers sit. It has only partially been repaired, with estimates saying it will cost over $120 million and take three years or more.
Mafe was arrested in the Parliament precinct soon after the fire started. He was charged with arson, terrorism, breaking and entering, but his case has been held up after a judge ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is fit to stand trial.
The judge holding today’s court session let Mafe finish his rant, saying he didn’t want to “exacerbate” his “mental condition.”.
Judge Nathan Erasmus then said an expert report indicated that Mafe was unable to understand the wrongness of the crimes he is accused of, although a final ruling on whether there will be a criminal trial was postponed until next month.
Mafe had also challenged the judge to give him a sentence of 25 years to life, which is what he could face if his trial goes ahead.
“I’m not afraid of a life sentence,” he shouted.
The fire triggered criticism of the slipshod security procedures in place at the Parliament whose members were on recess and the buildings were largely empty. No one was injured by the fire.
Mafe has said he is angry about a litany of problems in South Africa. He has called the opposition political party that runs the Cape Town municipality racist against Black people and has also accused the government of failing to help the poor.
South Africa is rapidly deteriorating, with residents going without power much of the day in massive blackouts. South Africa used to be the most advanced country on the African continent, a place with world-class roads and railroads. It was the place that discovered how to do heart transplants, and came up with other inventions such as advanced cataract surgery, CT scans, and computerized ticketing systems. Foreign observers hoped things would get even better after the end of white rule over the predominantly black country in 1990. But instead, the country got worse under its new black rulers, the left-leaning African National Congress.
South Africa now has one of the world’s highest crime rates, for a quarter century under the ANC’s rule. Seemingly everything is falling apart. South Africa has the world’s highest rape rate, the third-highest murder rate in the world, the world’s highest robbery rate, and the world’s highest burglary rate. A third of all South Africans are unemployed.
