Chaos erupts in Cape Town High Court as matters proceed in Zandile Mafe’s absence

Drama ensued in the Cape Town High Court when arson accused Zandile Mafe refused to come to the dock.

The court proceeding was to be Mafe’s first as part of the run-up to the trial in the High Court.

Mafe is facing several charges including house breaking with intent to commit terrorism, two counts of arson and theft.

He was arrested on the second of January after a fire destroyed large parts of Parliament.

But shortly after proceedings started, the court was told he was lying down in the holding cells and wouldn’t get up.

After consultation, Mafe’s lawyer asked that the matter proceed in Mafe’s absence.

“I did not anticipate that Mafe will not be able to come up to the courtroom. He advised me that he is not well physically. He has been on a hunger strike for a considerable period of time. Unfortunately, I did not get any information from Pollsmoor. They usually advise me as and when Mafe embarks on a hunger strike, but this time they did not inform me until I was advised by Mafe and to make it even worse, he came out of prison knowing that he is not prepared to come to the courtroom as he is still in his pyjamas.”

VIDEO: The case against alleged Parliament arsonist, Zandile Mafe was postponed to June 9, 2022:

Outside court, Godla said his client was not satisfied with the progress of the case and it was decided that he was too weak to participate in proceedings.

The state was also caught by surprise at Mafe’s revelation that he was on a hunger strike. It indicated, however, as did the defence, that it is ready to proceed to trial.

NPA Spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila says, “We have handed 95% of our case to the defence already. What is still outstanding is a video evidence which is electronic, which we need to hand over to them. They must give us a hard drive so that it can be downloaded and handed over to them. We are also waiting for video analysis which we’ll get by this week and I think by the end of this week we would have given them anything they want for them to consult and then be ready for a case.”

The matter has been postponed to the 2nd September for another pre-trial hearing.