Zandile Mafe will undergo court-ordered psychiatric treatment after being declared unfit to stand trial for the fire at Parliament by Western Cape High Court Judge Nathan Erasmus on Monday. 

"Mr Mafe is not treated as a criminal accused anymore," said Erasmus. 

"He is treated as a mental health patient and everything should be done to ensure that he gets the best treatment for the diagnosis made."

A court-appointed panel at the Fort England psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape and Mafe's independently appointed psychiatrist came to the same diagnosis based on the symptoms he displayed. 

They found that he suffers from schizophrenia, and both recommended psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation. 

Erasmus ordered that Mafe be treated in the Pollsmoor Prison medical wing until a bed becomes available in a suitable psychiatric hospital, preferably in Rustenburg, to be close to his family in the North West. 

Sensitive to Mafe's rejection of Valkenberg Hospital in Cape Town, because "it triggers him" after his brief stay there following his arrest on the day of the fire on 2 January 2022, Erasmus said Valkenberg would not be a good fit.  

However, Mafe's counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu SC, indicated that he would apply for leave to appeal Erasmus' judgment and would probably file papers in the first court term of 2024. 

Mafe insists that there is nothing wrong with him, and in repeated outbursts said he started the fire, and wants to go on trial on the charges which include terrorism and arson. 

Judgment was expected to be handed down at the start of proceedings on Monday, but it emerged that Mpofu and the State filed supplementary notes in the interim. 

Mpofu argued that the Fort England report did not meet the requirements of a fitness to stand trial inquiry because it contained no details, just findings, and relied on oral evidence from Fort England's head of psychiatry, Dr Thupana Seshoka.

He also drove home his point that there is a danger of opponents of the State being classified as mentally ill just for holding anti-government views like Mafe does. 

This relates to Mafe's demands on arrest that President Cyril Ramaphosa resign, that the State of the Nation Address be cancelled, and that poor people get a R1 500 per month grant. 

However, he also ventured into other claims.

But Erasmus said that since the report arrived from Fort England in his inbox in May, and he distributed it to the parties, Mpofu had never raised an objection about the apparent lack of detail. 

He said the report is comprehensive, with information on consultations with psychiatrists, a psychologist, a social worker, and an occupational therapist, as well as ongoing observations by nurses; it also contained the results of an MRI, blood tests and physiological checks, and the observation period was extended.

The independent psychiatrist Mpofu commissioned came to the same findings as the state-appointed panel, said Erasmus. 

Prosecutor Mervyn Menigo said the State is pressing for court-ordered psychiatric treatment because it has a responsibility to make sure that he gets treatment.   

Menigo said:

I take no pleasure in prosecuting a man that is ill.

Mpofu said that Mafe had proved several times by testimony in court that he was capable of testifying, and even the objects that he took from Parliament were carefully selected. 

He said the book on Oliver Tambo that Mafe saved from the fire proved he knew what he was doing, and his political views are echoed by many in the country.

Ultimately Erasmus accepted the panel's report and declared Mafe unfit to stand trial because he would not be able to understand proceedings to mount a proper defence, based on the panel's recommendation. 

The proceedings then turned to an argument over whether the crime he is accused of actually occurred. This is a requirement in closing the legal loop in a fitness-to-stand-trial process.

Mafe was pointedly ignored every time he attempted to interject directly to the judge instead of going through Mpofu. 

Erasmus said from that point, he had no more say in the proceedings.

Menigo handed up a 210-page bundle containing evidence and the statements of the investigating officers who arrested and questioned Mafe. 

After a to and fro, with Erasmus warning Mpofu not to be "snide" as the argument over whether it should be handed up became heated, Erasmus ordered that the State bring the investigating officer to court immediately to have statements admitted into the record. 

The court stood down, and about 20 minutes later, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Daries arrived. 

The head of the Crimes against the State Unit, Chris Theron, is booked off sick, so Daries was appointed caretaker investigating officer in the meantime. 

Daries read into the record the statements on file, starting with the officer who spotted smoke at 06:03 and raised the alarm to the "confession" statement Theron took from Mafe at Cape Town Central police station.

This included Mafe's "pointing out" statement on where he bought the petrol - he paid R10 to have a Coke bottle filled at a garage in Bellville.

The file also contained stills of CCTV footage of Mafe in Parliament, which was analysed and confirmed to be him by a facial recognition expert. 

Erasmus found there was sufficient evidence of a crime and admitted the evidence into the record.  

He then ordered that Mafe be temporarily detained in a correctional services health facility, pending his transfer to a suitable psychiatric hospital when bed space becomes available, for treatment as recommended by the panel.

This will be Pollsmoor Prison hospital in the meantime, and he could stay there for treatment pending the outcome of the appeal to avoid disruptions for him. 

The order has built-in periodic reviews on how he is responding to his treatment.

Mafe seemed to accept his fate, sitting stoically in the dock and leaning over to have a few last words with Mpofu until they meet again for the appeal.

If successful, he might be able to go on trial and elaborate on his claim that he was working with "powerful" people that he cannot name.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the State welcomes the decision.