A new blaze broke out on Monday at the complex housing the two chambers of South Africa’s na-tional parliament in Cape Town, one day after a devastating fire swept through the buildings.
“The fire and rescue service confirms that the fire at parliament has flared up. The void beneath the roof sheeting of the National Assembly is on fire,” a spokesman for the city’s fire services said on Mon-day afternoon.
Police have charged a 49-year-old man with arson and other offences including theft, and he was ex-pected to appear in court on Tuesday.National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said the arson, if confirmed, would repre-sent an attack on the country’s democracy.
The initial fire on Sunday caused the roof of the New Wing housing the assembly’s lower chamber to collapse. The roof of the Old Wing, which dates back to 1884 and houses the upper chamber Na-tional Council of Provinces (NCOP), also partially collapsed.
However, import nt sections including a museum with artworks and heritage objec ts were saved, as was an embroidered tapestry telling the story of the Eastern Cape on the ground floor of the Old Assem-bly Building, officials said.
Earlier on Monday firefighters had managed to ex-tinguish most of the initial blaze. As the new fire flared, parliament said firefighters had been rein-forced with additional equipment and personnel.—Agencies
