Twitter reacted to the arrest and first appearance of Zandile Mafe who was charged for the Parliament fire.
@Yvonnegraceful
If they say this man, Zandile Mafe, knew Parliament protection officers were not on duty, that nobody was monitoring CCTV cameras, knew water sprinklers were turned off, then the man must be appointed head of Parliamentary Protection Services or Intelligence Operative.
@Zungulavuyo
Minister De Lille confirmed the CCTV cameras were working Sunday morning. We would like to see video evidence of Zandile Mafe in the Parliament precinct and starting the fire. Something doesn’t add up here and we can’t keep quiet.
@DBDG5ZTXMQUPNGA
Zandile Mafe’s lawyer is right, he has been made a scapegoat. Even looking at him, one can see that he is a poor guy who happened to be at the wrong place at a wrong time.
@thiathumanenzhe
Advocate Godla is correct, the police cannot randomly arrest someone on the basis of their proximity to the crime scene. Where were the police and security personnel at the time? Society must unite and call for the release of Zandile Mafe.
@Lonwabomfundisi
Every time there is a big case, the police arrest the wrong people to close a case, look at what happened to Senzo Meyiwa’s case. Now it is this case that makes me realise that we have many people who are in prison just to close a case.
@urbanjodi
Two possible outcomes to Zandile Mafe’s arrest: if he was in the building, we must pay attention to the need for mental health services. If he was not, we must pay attention to the vulnerability of urban poor for their very existence being criminal.
@Andiswamadikazi
The story of Zandile Mafe reminds me of a movie called Miracle in Cell No 7. A mentally disturbed man was sentenced to death by authorities for a crime he didn’t commit. The authorities knew he was innocent but his sin was that he was poor and mentally disturbed. #Freezandilemafe
@Busisa_mchunu
This government is totally against black people, why would Zandile Mafe even bother to destroy that Parliament? To benefit how exactly? How can a person walk such a long distance without being recognised, start a fire, then hang around the area?
@Superiorzulu
Cape Town police are known for their evil acts toward homeless people. The arrest of Zandile Mafe brings to light how Cape Town SAPS tend to scapegoat the homeless for public violence, like homeless Fred Mhangazo became a victim for the burning of Table Mountain Park in April last year.
@Melanin_mmaps
There’s a BIG FISH they're protecting, they’re using Mafe as a cover up. There's no way he did that to Parliament on his own. What concrete evidence is there that proves that he burnt Parliament? It means CCTV cameras are not monitored.