Judge Nathan Erasmus ruled in the Western Cape High Court on Monday that alleged Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe was not fit to stand trial and should be treated at a psychiatric facility.

Mafe allegedly set Parliament alight in the early hours of 2 January 2022. It is estimated that rebuilding it will cost R2-billion.   

Mafe has been in jail since his arrest in January 2022, shortly after which district surgeon Dr Zelda van Tonder declared that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. He was charged with a variety of offences, including housebreaking with the intent to commit arson, terrorism and theft.

Handing down the judgment on Monday, Erasmus said he had based his finding on reports submitted by a panel at Fort England Psychiatric Hospital and Dr Naseema Cassimjee, a private psychiatrist appointed by Mafe’s legal team.

“I’m of the view that a finding that Mafe is not capable of understanding the proceedings so as to make a proper defence and therefore my finding is in concurrence with the experts that, as commonly known, is a finding of not fit to stand trial.

“My declaration is that Mafe is unfit, unable to follow court proceedings and to make a proper defence and therefore he is unfit to stand trial,” Erasmus said.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Alleged Parliament arsonist Mafe ‘unable to follow court proceedings’ or conduct ‘proper defence’

According to Cassimjee’s report, Mafe had his first violent psychiatric incident when he was 15. She found that he had schizophrenia and that at the time of the alleged offence, he was unable to recognise the wrongfulness of his actions. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: ‘My job was to burn down Parliament,’ Mafe testifies, claiming he’s fit to stand trial

While Erasmus issued an order declaring Mafe a mental health patient, State prosecutor Mervyn Menigo said no beds were immediately available at Valkenberg Hospital. Mafe will be held in the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison until a bed becomes available at Valkenberg.

Defence objected to expert assessment

Mafe’s counsel, Dali Mpofu, had objected to the Fort England Psychiatric  Hospital’s assessment, which had found Mafe was unfit to stand trial. He claimed he didn’t have time to consult on the panel’s report, led by Dr Thupana Seshoka, and questioned its level of detail.

However, the defence’s own assessment, provided by Cassimjee, also concluded that Mafe was not fit to stand trial.

“[The] Cassmjee report was no different to that of the panel appointed by the court,” Erasmus explained.

“Dr Seshoka was called to give evidence and cross-examined, and both the State and defence could have called any of the other witnesses on the panel. There was no such request made,” he said.

“Seshoka and his team have vast experience in this field. He was cross-examined extensively and nowhere could I find there was any reason to doubt his credibility or reliability.

“Although it is not corroboration, it was therefore not unsurprising that a private psychiatrist appointed by the Mafe legal team came to the same conclusions,” Erasmus said.

The judge said he “attempted to listen tentatively” during Mafe’s testimony. 

“Sometimes I wasn’t sure whether he was on point and the other times it was as clear as crystal. But I’m not going to draw any inference,” Erasmus said.

Mpofu argued that Mafe was fit to stand trial and said that his client would appeal against the decision. DM