Parly Arson Accused Zandile Mafe’s Hunger Strike Leaves Him Too Sick to Go to Court, Found Lying Down in Cell

• The man accused of setting fire to Parliament’s National Assembly chamber is on a hunger strike and refused to attend court
• He was due to appear in the Western Cape High Court; however the hunger strike left him sick and incapacitated
• The arson accused’s lawyer Luvuyo Godla was not aware of Mafe’s hunger strike and the trial has been postponed

CAPE TOWN - The man accused of setting fire to parliament was found lying on the ground in a holding cell and refused to attend the Western Cape High Court on Friday, 12 August. The pre-trial for Zandile Mafe has been postponed to next month.

The arson accused’s lawyer Luvuyo Godla spoke to him while the matter stood down, according to News24. He told the court that he did not anticipate the delay.

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The National Prosecuting Authority’s Eric Ntabazalila said Godla indicated that his client was on a hunger strike causing him to be sick and incapacitated.

He told EWN, that the defence lawyer was not aware of Mafe’s hunger strike. The accused is due back in court early next month.

South Africans react to the courthouse drama:

@MurielMakulana said:

“This man should have been committed to a mental institution for assessment, but his legal representatives contended that he is sane."

@Malakoaneelvis posted:

“Zandile Mafe and Adv Teffo must be stepbrothers.”

Zandile Mafe’s court case postponed for 6 weeks, cell phone records to be investigated

In a related matter, Briefly News also reported Zandile Mafe’s bail application was dismissed and the prosecutors asked for an eight-week postponement in order to pursue a number of investigations.

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The court granted a six-week postponement. It is believed that the police will use this time to scrutinise Mafe’s cell phone records in order to establish who he was in contact with prior to the fire.

Source: Briefly News