Parliament confirms arrest after man enters precinct unlawfully
Parliament says a man in his 30s was arrested after allegedly entering the parliamentary precinct in Cape Town during the early hours of Friday.
A man was arrested on Saturday for unlawfully entering the Cape Town parliamentary precinct on Friday morning, September 11. The incident, confirmed by Parliament, saw the individual trespassing early on the morning of the 11th. Members of the Parliamentary Protection Services swiftly apprehended the trespasser, who was then handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS). The individual is currently in police custody.
Parliament stated that the incident did not disrupt its operations. However, they emphasized their commitment to maintaining stringent security measures to prevent unauthorized access to their precinct. The source eNCA reported that the individual had scaled the fence on Thursday night and spent the night within the parliamentary precinct.
The building, currently under repairs following a fire in 2022, is a significant focus of attention. The fire, which broke out just after 6am on January 2, 2022, gutted parts of the Old Assembly and National Assembly. Firefighters arrived at the scene within six minutes of the alarm, but part of the ceiling had already collapsed.
The perpetrator of the fire, Zandile Mafe, is currently serving a sentence. This fire occurred a month before the State of the Nation Address, which was subsequently moved to Cape Town City Hall due to the ongoing renovations.
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