Disciplinary action against 4 cops on duty at Parliament on night of fire
Disciplinary action has been taken a small group of officers in the Western Cape for a security breach at the Parliamentary precinct on January 2.
The National Assembly and Old Assembly building went up in flames in the early hours of the morning - a blaze that ripped through the building for more than 48 hours.
Extensive damage was caused to the building, leaving it inoperable.
While no injuries were reported, a lone suspect was arrested for allegedly igniting the fire.
Zandile Mafe faces a litany of charges, including the Contravention of Section 5 of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act.
He also faces arson and housebreaking charges.
On Friday, head of protection and security services at the Police Service, Sam Shitlabane, told the Standing Committee on Financial Management in Parliament that four officers would now also face the music.
"A departmental investigation has been instituted against the four members of the South African Police Service that were on duty. These are the people that would have disciplinary action against.
The four include a Relief Commander and 3 officers posted at monitoring rooms.
Two probes are currently underway, including a criminal and a departmental investigation.
Shitlabane again admitted that security features weren't up to par.
The power outage, caused by Eskom, on 21 December 2021, resulted in the malfunctioning of the video wall for the entire duration, prior to the Parliament fire incident. It is reported that apparently the generators ran out of diesel. Members could only monitor movement from a small screen due to the video wall not working.
"The police were using a small monitor to look at what is happening outside. With the video wall, you can see much bigger, and in the absence of that video wall working, you are left with either a 22 or 20-inch monitor where you monitor the same work. We are not responsible for the repair of the video wall. We have reported it to the relevant authorities."
ALSO READ:
