A 49-year-old man is facing charges of arson and theft in the Sunday blaze, which heavily damaged legislative buildings in Cape Town.
A day after a fire ripped through South Africa’s Houses of Parliament, books and bookshelves were still smoldering within the National Assembly building, officials said on Monday. Those who saw the damage described the buildings of both the historic Old Assembly and the New Assembly as “gutted.” The cause of the fire is under criminal investigation, and one man is in custody, officials said. The 49-year-old man was arrested on Sunday morning. As the fire burned and firefighters raced to the scene, security personnel spotted the man. He had gained unauthorized entry and was found to be carrying stolen property, the police said. He will appear on Tuesday in a Cape Town magistrate’s court on charges of arson, theft and housebreaking, the police’s directorate for priority crime investigation said in a statement.
