Zandile Mafe will return to the Western Cape High Court on Thursday for an update on his health. The defence and the State agreed to a redo on this aspect as they prepare for his trial for allegedly starting the fire at Parliament.
After police arrested Mafe on 2 January 2022, the day of the fire, an initial diagnosis of a psychiatric condition was made and he was sent to Valkenberg Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Cape Town. His pro bono advocate, Dali Mpofu SC, successfully argued that the referral process was unlawful, and Mafe was taken out of the hospital and put in Pollsmoor Prison.
Before his arrest, he alternated between sleeping on the streets and at his shack in Khayelitsha, depending on whether he had generated enough cash for transport by carrying people's groceries.