Supreme Court of Appeal Rejects Alleged Parliament Arsonist Zandile Mafe's Bail Appeal

• Arsonist-accused, Zandile Mafe will not be leaving prison anytime soon following the Supreme Court of Appeal's judgement
• The SCA ruled that it sees no reason to grant Mafe bail, who is accused of burning down Parliament
• Mafe had previously made consorted efforts to ditch making court appearances and even made ridiculous demands

CAPE TOWN - The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed alleged Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe's bail application because it sees no exceptional circumstances to grant him bail or for a further appeal.

The judgement was decided in chambers on 1 September, stamped on 5 September, and recently made public.

According to News24, Mafe had missed his court appearances on two occasions. In the first instance, he refused to go to court while he was inside the holding cell at the Western Cape High Court. The second time Mafe refused to leave his cell at Pollsmoor Prison to go to court.

Read also

Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane loses court bid to return to work and probe Phala Phala theft

He gave a list of demands that he wanted officials to meet before making a court appearance, such as a kettle, a television set and better prison conditions.

Mafe was arrested in January 2022 after being found inside Parliament while the building was burning. The National Prosecuting Authority also stated that he was caught on CCTV.

In addition to facing arson charges, Mafe is being charged with terrorism, housebreaking, theft and possession of explosives, according to SABC News. His pre-trial is expected to commence on 4 November.

Parly arson accused Zandile Mafe’s hunger strike leaves him too sick to go to court

Briefly News previously reported that 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.

Read also

Brave parent shot & killed bravely trying to stop a hijacking at child's school

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.

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.

Source: Briefly News