Cape Town - Zandile Mafe will know his fate in the next few days after the Cape Town Regional Court said it would deliver judgment on February 4.
This comes after a marathon hearing on Saturday, with Mafe fighting to be released on bail after he was arrested for allegedly burning Parliament.
State prosecutor Mervyn Menigo argued that Mafe should not be granted bail because the State has a strong case against him.
The charges against Mafe were serious and backed up by evidence, he said.
“These are substantial allegations against the accused,” said Menigo.
Mafe had bought petrol from a garage in Bellville and used it to set fire to Parliament with papers and boxes, Menigo said.
He argued that it was not the duty of the State to prove exceptional circumstances for bail to be granted, but the onus was on Mafe.
Menigo said the video evidence implicated Mafe.
“Where I agree with the applicant is that the bail application should not be drawn out before the criminal trial. But the State has a prima facie case against the accused. It is my submission that bail be refused,” said Menigo.
But advocate Dali Mpofu, for Mafe, said the State has no case against his client.
He said there was nothing wrong if Mafe called for the killer of SACP leader Chris Hani, Janusz Walus, to be released from prison because he had spent 27 years in jail like former president Nelson Mandela.
Hani was assassinated outside his home in Boksburg on April 10, 1993.
Mpofu also said Mafe must be presumed innocent until he was proven guilty by the court.
The court ruled that judgment will be delivered next Friday.
Political Bureau