The pre-trial of Zandile Mafe, who is suspected of burning the parliament building at the start of 2022, has been postponed to February 10 after he failed to arrive at the Western Cape High Court on Friday.
The court heard that Mafe was refusing to leave his Pollsmoor Prison cell even after the head of prison persuaded him to attend the court proceedings.
Judge Nape Dolamo asked if the accused would be comfortable if the trial was moved to the prison’s courtyard, to which Mafe’s defence, advocate Luvuyo Godla, said his client might still not leave his cell.
Mafe’s resistance has put his mental health status in the spotlight.
Dolamo asked Godla to clarify the defendant’s state of readiness for the trial and to determine whether Mafe would require mental health evaluation.
“I would humbly submit that it be attributed as well to the urgency of this matter that he be referred [for psychiatric evaluation]. I’ve communicated with him on a number of occasions,” said Godla.
It is the third time Mafe has failed to show up for the pre-trial. In August and September, the court heard that he was on hunger strike and would not leave his cell. At the time, Mafe also made frivolous demands for a television, radio, and a kettle in his cell.
Godla requested for the court to proceed without his client being physically present, but his request was turned down.
The 50-year-old Mafe has been in police custody since his arrest in January 2022 for allegedly setting the National Assembly chambers on fire at the start of the year.
In May, judge Daniel Thulare ordered Mafe back to prison following the dismissal of his bail reapplication. The ruling infuriated Mafe’s legal representative, advocate Dali Mpofu, who said at the time that his client was being denied his right to freedom.
Mpofu told a full bench of judges that Mafe had been incarcerated for five months without bail and without being proven guilty, and noted that if the incompetence of the police, prosecutor, and acting magistrate were put aside, his client would have long been released.
Mafe has maintained his innocence, but the prosecutors have told the court that facial recognition experts have positively identified him from a video footage collected on January 2, the day of the blaze.
Also read: Alleged Parliament arsonist Mafe pulls a no-show again
Mafe’s pre-trial postponed due to his ongoing hunger strike
Zandile Mafe officially indicted for setting parliament on fire
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