Did Zandile Mafe really slip into the Parliament precinct at 2am, turn off the alarm system, know that the smoke detectors were faulty and start the fire that caused so much destruction to the building?
His lawyer, Advocate Luvuyo Godla, thinks not, citing discrepancies in the National Prosecuting Authority’s case against Mafe in a new interview with Daily Maverick.
Godla says his client believes in his innocence and labelled Mafe a “scapegoat” for the fire that first broke out at parliament on January 2 and took multiple days to fully extinguish.
Mafe, lives in Khayelitsha and faces charges including housebreaking with the intent to steal, theft, two counts of arson, possession of an explosive device and destruction of essential infrastructure.
Godla says he has doubts whether a man who lives in Khayelitsha would come all the way to the Parliament precinct to commit petty crime.
“I would believe his innocence solely on the basis that no ordinary person would simply travel all the way from the Khayelitsha area with the intention of committing a crime of theft and housebreaking,” says Godla.
He adds, “Leaving all the places and allegedly going to Parliament to remove some reams of papers and taking a laptop. Parliament is such a very massive village and now you would ask yourself how one would be able to know at that particular minute there won’t be members of SAPS at the gate or any members of Parliamentary Protection Services inside the building.”
Godla does not believe that Mafe would have received the intelligence details necessary to commit a crime of this scale nor that Mafe had the expertise to navigate his way around Parliament and start the fire.
“Someone is pulling the wool over the face of the public.”
But Mafe’s alleged political connections have also caused some to raise eyebrows while former public protector Thuli Madonsela says those who are 100% sure he is innocent must tell the rest of us what they know that we don’t.
It’s an intricate detail of events and whoever is responsible should of course be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, be it Zandile Mafe or anyone else. Daily Maverick has complied a handy 48-hour timeline piecing together every moment of the fire.
Meanwhile, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has taken the opportunity to conduct a risk assessment on all provincial facilities to ensure they have adequate plans in place to deal with any emergency and that they comply with safety standards.
“Our disaster risk analysis and disaster management team have got to be able to think about the impossible and make sure we analyse it and prepare for it. We have to learn from what had happened earlier this week.”
Winde urged private citizens and businesses to ensure they too had adequate safety measures in place to mitigate against disaster.
Back to the first volume of the State Capture report, US management consultancy Bain & Co were heavily implicated in part one for its role in the hollowing out of the SA Revenue Service (SARS).
In the report, it states that Bain had the inside track on the appointment of former SARS commissioner Tom Moyane before it was announced he would take over and that Bain’s former managing partner Vittorio Massone had regular meetings with former president Jacob Zuma.
“Bain met President Zuma and Mr Moyane before they had even been appointed as third-party consultants to SARS, and from an early stage it was obvious that they would be given the position, even though no tender process had even begun,” according to the report.
Bain was paid R164 million for third-party consulting in what turned into a 27-month country after it was initially supposed to be a six-week contract to the value of R2.6 million. Bain has since paid back the money in full with interest.
The report recommends that Bain be investigated with a view to possible prosecution.
But the management firm has hit back at the Zondo Commission’s findings saying the report mischaracterised the role the firm played in its dealings with SARS and that the report relied solely on the testimony of a witness that had “no first-hand knowledge” of Bain’s work with the tax collector.
This after anti-apartheid activist and former British cabinet minister, Lord Peter Hain wrote to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, asking the PM to halt all government contracts with the US-based management firm.
On the currency front, the rand is trading at R15.75/$ this morning ahead of the release US Non-farm payrolls and unemployment data. Yesterday the local currency traded to an intraday R15.66 best level at one point despite the Dollar being on the front foot for most of the day, reports forex trading house TreasuryONE.
Metals are trading flat, gold at $1792, platinum is at $969, and palladium at $1878. Brent is trading at $82.58 a barrel with the unrest in Kazakhstan causing supply concerns in oil markets and driving the price higher.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Here’s how much money lawyers earn in South Africa – BusinessTech
Zondo wants probe into Nedbank’s conduct – but bank denies wrongdoing – Fin24
Attempt to seize SAA plane fails as man fights for payback after in-flight toilet trauma – Fin24
Global Business
Samsung forecasts 52.5% jump in Q4 profits on record sales – AFP
Trump to launch his social media app in February, listing shows – SABC News
New York Times to Buy the Athletic in $550 Million Deal – Daily Maverick/Bloomberg
Markets
Asian markets mixed as attention turns to US jobs – AFP
S&P 500 ends jumpy session nearly flat, a day after sell-off – SABC
US Oil Stocks Surge in Rebound to Pre-Pandemic Levels – Daily Maverick/Bloomberg
Opinion/In-depth
International food price index registers a small decline in December, but remains close to record highs – Daily Maverick
Biden tears into Trump on anniversary of ‘insurrection’ – AFP
Another year of dollar dominance ahead as the Fed lifts rates: Poll – SABC
Video
ANC to outline plans and achievements at January 8 celebrations – eNCA
Financial Literacy | Managing your finances in Janu-worry – eNCA
Thousands try out new gadgets at CES in Las Vegas – Reuters
Feature image: Zandile Mafe sleeping outside parliament. Source: Twitter
