MPs want Hawks to broaden probe into Parliament fire beyond arson-accused Zandile Mafe
Members of the joint committee are not convinced that Mafe acted alone and want the Hawks to broaden their investigation and not focus solely on him.
FILE: Zandile Christmas Mafe, a suspect in connection to a fire at the South African Parliament, appears at the Magistrate Court in Cape Town on 11 January 2022. He is suspected of starting a devastating fire that gutted South Africa's parliament. Picture: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP
CAPE TOWN - Members of Parliament want the Hawks to broaden its investigation into the Parliament fire and not only focus on arson-accused, Zandile Mafe.
Mafe was charged with housebreaking, theft, terrorism and arson for starting the January 2022 fire but has been declared unfit to stand trial.
But MPs want more people charged for the lax security at Parliament, one of the country’s national key points.
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Members were discussing a progress report from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) before the joint standing committee on the financial management of Parliament on Friday.
Mafe, accused of setting Parliament on fire in 2022, is currently undergoing psychiatric assessment and is not fit to stand trial.
But members of the joint committee are not convinced that he acted alone and want the Hawks to broaden their investigation and not focus solely on Mafe.
The African National Congress (ANC)'s Bheki Radebe said that focusing on Mafe was misdirected.
"So, I don’t know whether the Hawks have widened the net so that the people who are around Mafe were investigated."
Committee member, Des van Rooyen, said that more people should be investigated for the security breach.
"The Hawks are only referring to Mr Mafe. What about the broader mandate of establishing what might have involved others, because breach of security protocols to me is a criminal offence."
Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale said that the focus for now was only on Mafe but action had been taken against police and Parliament officials.