Zandile Mafe Appears in Court, Parliament Fire Suspect Requests Janusz Walus’ Release

• Zandile Mafe made a court appearance to appeal the court's previous decision not to grant him bail
• Mafe has been accused of starting a fire at the Houses of Parliament in Cape Town, as well as theft, terrorism and housebreaking
• The Parliament fire accused wants Janusz Walus, who murdered Chris Hani, to be released from his life sentence

CAPE TOWN - Today (11 February), Zandile Mafe appeared in the Cape Town Regional Court connected to the fire that occurred at the Houses of Parliament on 2 January.

Mafe's court appearance corresponded with the 32nd anniversary of former president Nelson Mandela's release from prison. The accused noted this in his testimony and said that he wanted the court to mark the occasion by releasing Janusz Walus, who is serving a life sentence for killing anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani in 1993.

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Mervyn Menigo, the prosecutor in Mafe's case, said that the forensic investigation was still ongoing, mainly his clothing and various items found on his person when he was arrested, TimesLIVE reports.

The status of Mafe's case thus far

At his last hearing on 29 January, Mafe applied for bail, which the court denied. Mafe and his legal team appealed the decision despite the court's promise to oppose the appeal, according to IOL. He is facing arson, terrorism, theft, and housebreaking charges.

“A cellphone in possession of the accused has delivered certain records and certain leads coming from the phone have to be followed up and statements obtained," Menigo said.

Mafe's case has been postponed by six weeks to allow the court to receive video footage that allegedly shows the accused starting the Parliament fire. His next court date is scheduled for 25 March.

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South Africans react to the latest developments in Mafe's case

@tivancis429 remarked:

"Now he has a cellphone!"

@KVenish believes:

"You got the wrong person."

@mr_bradarkie asked:

"This "homeless" man has a cellphone?"

@MaTerry153 shared:

"Where there is a hit there is a mastermind behind it. Take note of that."

@Mangi41697789 said:

"The guy is 'homeless'. If given bail, he will never be found again."

"Deep": Mafe says gov fed him in prison but not on the streets, SA weighs in

In earlier news about this case, Briefly News reported that state-prosecuted Zandile Mafe is making waves online after hitting Mzansi with some serious food for thought.

The homeless prisoner criticised our national government for feeding him behind bars but not on the streets, and it seems his statement struck a nerve with South Africans.

Heading online, Twitter user @_AfricanSoil got the conversation rolling.

"Yah ne! Life of a black person in South Africa," he captioned the post along with a broken heart emoji.

Source: Briefly News