Zandile Mafe gestures during his appearance at Western Cape High Court on 13 July.
Brenton Geach/Gallo Images
Alleged arsonist Zandile Mafe is unfit to stand trial in connection with the fire that gutted the National Assembly building in January 2022, the Western Cape High Court heard on Thursday.
The decision was the outcome of an independent psychiatric assessment conducted at the defence’s request after three State-appointed specialists gave separate findings.
Mafe was not present in court when the decision was revealed.
The case was postponed to 1 September for the State and the defence to tell the judge how they intend to proceed with the matter.
Judge Nathan Erasmus ordered that Mafe should be detained in the hospital wing of Pollsmoor Prison in the interim.
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