Cape Town - The public may have to wait until Parliament building arson accused Zandile Mafe goes to trial at the Western Cape High Court to know the full extent of the damage inflicted by the fire that gutted the National and Old Assembly buildings in January.
This comes after State advocate Mervyn Menigo on Thursday confirmed that the prosecution received the damage and arsonist reports but could not at that stage disclose the contents thereof.
Mafe appeared in an empty court room as his support has dwindled since he first appeared at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court shortly after his arrest.
Advocate Nikiwe Nyati represented him.
Now that Mafe has been served with an indictment, his next appearance will be at the Western Cape High Court for a pre-trial conference on August 12.
He has been charged with three counts of housebreaking with intent to commit arson and arson, terrorism and theft.
Much was made by the State about Mafe’s motivation behind the alleged terrorism charge which has been described as an intention “to intimidate, induce or cause feelings of insecurity in the public or a segment of the public … or to cause and spread feelings of fear in the civilian population”.
It is alleged that on December 31 last year he bought fuel at a petrol station in Bellville, poured it into a cold drink bottle and travelled to Cape Town CBD.
Thus far the State has in its possession damning video footage which they say places Mafe inside the parliamentary precinct.
Court documents revealed that Mafe allegedly scaled the fence at Parliament and made his way into the precinct. He avoided being caught by hiding behind a wall and then crawled on his stomach to avoid detection.
He gained access to the Old Assembly through a door that was closed but not locked.
The State will venture to prove that Mafe was motivated by political, ideological or philosophical beliefs given his criticism of President Cyril Ramaphosa, and his description of the government as a “dictatorship”.
The Department of Public Works has confirmed that the damage report has been received but will have to go through the process of being presented to Parliament before it could be shared with the public.