By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The case against Zandile Mafe, the man accused of starting the fire that destroyed large parts of Parliament, has been postponed to May.
Sandile Christmas Mafe made a brief appearance in the Cape Town Regional Court on Friday on charges arson and terrorism.
State prosecutor, Mervyn Meningo also submitted to the court Mafe was positively linked by forensics to the blaze which ripped apart the National Assembly.
Menigo told the court that forensic investigators were only granted access to Parliament on 15 March 2022 and thus asked for a six-week postponement.
Mafe was arrested on January 2 after Parliament was burnt.
The 49-year-old Khayelitsha man has denied the charges against him but was denied bail during an earlier court appearance and sent for mental observation at the Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital.
Spokesperson for the NPA in the Western Cape Eric Ntabazalila told media outside the court that the State had requested the postponement.
“The crime scene is still active in Parliament. Forensic investigators were only allowed in the building in Parliament on the 15th of March. They are still busy with that investigation with the estimate that they will need at least six weeks to finalise the investigation. That is the investigation and the reports.”
The case has been postponed to May.
“We are trying to move with speed, but it is unfortunately a situation out of our control,” said Ntabazalila.
“So far all the investigations that has been done has not identified anybody else except Mafe. We are working according to the evidence at our disposal.”
Mafe’s bail application was denied on 4 February by the Cape Town Regional Court and the court ruled that Mafe failed to prove why he deserved to be released on bail.