CAPE TOWN – Zandile Mafe, who is accused of torching the South African Parliament early in January, has asked to be given bail by the Cape Town Regional Court, saying he would not evade trial.

Mafe is applying for bail after he was arrested following the fire that left parts of Parliament in ruins on January 2.

Led by his counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu, Mafe told the court on Saturday he was a poor man who would not cause trouble for the authorities once granted bail.

He said his face was now recognised since his arrest, and that he lived in Mahikeng and Khayelitsha.

He came to Cape Town a few years ago from the North West town.

Mafe said he would ensure that he appeared in court when required, should he be granted bail.

“The State has nothing to fear that I will not come back because I said that I will sue the State because my address is in Mahikeng and Khayelitsha,” said Mafe.

He told the court that he had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Parliament has said the cost of the damage after the fire would run into millions of rands.

The National Assembly was gutted, as well as other offices located in the building.