Man accused of terrorism over parliament fire says he ‘burned it intentionally’

Smoke rises from the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, in January 2022 (Nardus Engelbrecht/AP)

A man facing terrorism charges over a fire that badly damaged South Africa’s parliament building last year said in a courtroom outburst that he “burned it intentionally”.

Shouting and pointing his finger, Zandile Mafe said he was going to “burn it more” if the parliament was not moved from Cape Town to either the city of Bloemfontein or Pretoria.