Man charged in fire at South African Parliament declared unfit for trial

A man charged with terrorism and other offenses over a 2022 fire that badly damaged South Africa’s historic Parliament complex in Cape Town was declared unfit to stand trial by a court on Monday.

Zandile Mafe was diagnosed with schizophrenia by an expert panel in a report, and a judge in the Western Cape High Court ruled that he agreed with the assessment. Judge Nathan Erasmus said that Mafe wasn’t able to understand the charges against him.

Mafe has said he’s fit to stand trial and has admitted in previous court hearings to starting the blaze in January 2022. He said he did it in protest against Parliament, the local government in Cape Town and the national government. He said all of them have failed South Africa’s people.

In a previous court outburst, he threatened to burn the Parliament building again and challenged the court to send him to prison, saying he wasn’t afraid of a life sentence.

Read more: ABC News