The 2022 Parliament of South Africa fire was a major fire at the parliamentary complex in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa.

Fire and response

On 2 January 2022, just after 05:00 am (

SAST South African Standard Time (SAST) is the time zone used by all of South Africa as well as Eswatini and Lesotho. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+02:00) and is the same as Central Africa Time. Daylight saving time is not observed in ...

), the

City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remo ...

's Fire & Rescue Service were notified of a fire at the parliamentary complex. The fire started on the third floor of the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ...

building and spread to the office space and the gymnasium, before spreading to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

. By the following morning, fire services personnel were still damping small hotspots in the complex. During the afternoon on 3 January, a fire broke out again on the roof of the National Assembly building.

Damage

The fire severely damaged the new National Assembly building. Offices and the gymnasium in the old National Assembly building were destroyed, and some floors suffered water and smoke damage. Despite extensive damage to the complex buildings, important works of art and heritage were reportedly intact.

Aftermath

Arrest

A 49-year-old male suspect was arrested on 2 January by the South African Police Service (SAPS) Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), colloquially known as the

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...

. The suspect is currently facing charges of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

, housebreaking, and

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

under the National Key Points Act, and was due to appear in court on 4 January. After a brief appearance in the Cape Town Magistrates' Court, the suspect Zandile Christmas Mafe was remanded into custody until 11 January, pending a bail application and further investigation of the circumstances of the fire. The prosecution revealed he has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The state wants him committed to a mental institution for 30 days observation to decide whether he is fit to stand trial.

Investigation

Initial reports stated that the sprinkler system had not functioned correctly, protection services staff were not on duty, and the

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly ...

system was not being monitored in the time running up to the start of the fire. On 6 January 2022, the City of Cape Town released a preliminary report based on observations from the fire services. This report confirmed that the National Assembly sprinkler valve system had not been serviced since 2017, and was closed at the time of the fire. It also found that fire doors were latched open, which aided the spread of the fire.

SONA and National Assembly sittings

On 7 January 2022, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and

Chairperson

Amos Masondo Nkosiyakhe Amos Masondo (born 21 April 1953 in Louwsburg) is a South African politician, who has served as the Chairperson of South Africa's National Council of Provinces since 23 May 2019. He was the mayor of the city of Johannesburg, South Af ...

revealed in a statement that President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

's State of the Nation Address (SONA) would be held at the

Cape Town City Hall Cape Town City Hall is a large Edwardian building in Cape Town city centre which was built in 1905. It is located on the Grand Parade to the west of the Castle and is built from honey-coloured oolitic limestone imported from Bath in Englan ...

on 10 February 2022. The subsequent Debate on the State of the National Address and the President's Reply will also take place at the venue. The SONA was attended by 300 Members of Parliament and 70 guests in order to comply with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

regulations. On 10 January, Mapisa-Nqakula announced that National Assembly sittings, including Finance Minister

Enoch Godongwana Enoch Godongwana (born 9 June 1957) is a South African politician who has been serving as the Minister of Finance of South Africa in the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa since August 2021. He is also the former head of the African Nationa ...

's Budget Speech in February, will be held in the Good Hope Chamber. The Good Hope Chamber is one of the oldest meeting rooms of Parliament. It was the meeting place of the

Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope The Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope functioned as the legislature of the Cape Colony, from its founding in 1853, until the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it was dissolved and the Parliament of South Africa was establis ...

from 1854 to 1885. The chamber has a seating capacity for 170 persons and allows 70 persons under COVID-19 regulations.

Alleged confession

On 29 January 2022, the State alleged that Mafe confessed to starting a fire in the parliamentary building. According to an affidavit given to investigators after his arrest and read out to the court, Mafe said that it was "the right thing" to set parliament on fire as he wanted to prevent Ramaphosa from delivering his annual SONA. He also demanded Ramaphosa's resignation, the release of

Janusz Waluś Janusz Jakub Waluś ( , ; born 14 January 1953) is a Goral Polish right-wing extremist convicted of the 1993 assassination of Chris Hani, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), ...

as well as R1 500 for unemployed South Africans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parliament of South Africa fire, 2022 Parliament of South Africa 21st century in Cape Town Fires at legislative buildings Fires in South Africa January 2022 events in South Africa 2022 crimes in South Africa 2022 fires in Africa 2022 disasters in South Africa