UPDATE 1-Alleged arsonist in Cape Town mountain fire appears in court
A member of the local neighbourhood watch allegedly witnessed three suspects making a fire on the mountain and alerted authorities.
CAPE TOWN, April 20 (ANA) – The man arrested for allegedly starting a mountain fire in Cape Town at the weekend appeared at the regional court on Tuesday facing arson charges.
The case against Tanzanian national Frederick Mhangazo, who is 35 and homeless, was postponed to April 28. He was arrested on Sunday evening by City of Cape Town law enforcement officers.
According to provincial police spokesman Colonel Andre Traut, the arrest came after a member of the local neighbourhood watch allegedly witnessed three suspects making a fire on the mountain and alerted authorities. Two of the suspects managed to evade arrest.
Firefighters on Tuesday entered a third day of battling the flames. The fire Mhangazo is alleged to have started is separate from that which broke out along Rhodes Memorial.
Students had to be evacuated from their residences at the University of Cape Town (UCT) after fire engulfed parts of the campus.
The fire gutted a large part of the cultural landscape of the Rhodes Estate, the historic Tea Room next to the Rhodes Memorial and several buildings on the main campus at UCT including the Jagger Library which had an internationally acclaimed collection of historic archival documents and books.
Fellow tertiary institution the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) was spared.
In a statement on Tuesday, spokeswoman Lauren Kansley said the university had acted swiftly in checking that its staff and students located in close proximity to the fire in areas such as District Six, Observatory and Mowbray were safe.
The CPUT had also offered medical assistance to those who suffered from respiratory illnesses, offered relocation of residences to those who were interested and allowed staff to work from home, she added.
On Monday the spokesman for the South African National Parks, Rey Thakhuli confirmed that over 400 hectares of land had been damaged by fires which were made harder to contain by heavy winds.
A final assessment of the damage has not yet been made.
On Tuesday Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Jermaine Carelse said fresh crews would deployed.
“Three days since the start of the devastating Rhodes Memorial blaze, the fire has been largely contained with firefighting efforts now focused on Deer Park and the Disa Park towers in Vredehoek,” he said.
“Crews have worked tirelessly and the wind having died down considerably, has given them some respite. Fresh crews and seasonal firefighters will be deployed to those hot spot areas.”
The Disaster Risk Management department has coordinated joint efforts to initiate repairs to damaged roads and other city infrastructure, spokeswoman Charlotte Powell said.
“Solid waste management has been activated to clear the fire debris. The electricity department has advised that no major damage has occurred to the medium voltage infrastructure. However, the overhead lines to affected buildings have been damaged,” Powell said.
“Meanwhile, the Environmental Health Service is doing ongoing water sampling at the Molteno Reservoir to ensure that any ash from the fire does not affect the water quality.”
Residents who were evacuated from their homes had been given the go-ahead to return to their homes on Monday night, she added.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
