Fire in the South African Parliament building in Cape Town JOHANNESBURG, Jan 2 Willie Madisha, a spokesman for the South African People's Congress opposition party, believes that the fire that broke out on Sunday morning in the South African parliament building was deliberately provoked and linked to a case of government corruption, he told RIA Novosti. Previously, local media reported that the fire had engulfed the old the building that houses the National Council of Provinces (upper house of parliament) and new premises where the National Assembly (lower house) sits. The fire was localized only in the building of the upper chamber. Two floors of the building where the lower chamber was located were destroyed by fire. Cape Town police said one person was detained in connection with the fire and sent for interrogation. 
In St. Petersburg, two people were injured in a fire in a nine-story building According to Madisha, the commission headed by the Supreme Judge of South Africa Raymond Zondo, which has been interrogating since 2018 on the case of «state capture» and corruption in government departments, presented the first of three parts of its report to the President South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, and also recommended that the perpetrators be imprisoned. On January 4, the president was supposed to make the results of the report publicly available. The oppositionist added that copies of the report were kept in the offices of some parliamentarians responsible for reviewing the report. “I assume that the information in the report showed corruption in the government. (ANC) For example, such as the ANC's ties with (ex-President Jacob) Zuma or the Gupta oligarchs (Indian businessmen who participated in corruption schemes with Zuma.) I can say that the government itself, headed by Ramaphosa and his ministers, is most likely wanted this information to be destroyed, «Madisha shared with the agency. He noted that it is suspicious that a fire could have occurred in the parliament building, which is under 24-hour surveillance and is guarded.» .) happened last year. And in general it always happens when serious problems are raised for discussion, «the politician said. Former President Zuma began serving a prison sentence in July. According to the verdict, he was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months in prison. Scandals regularly occurred around Zuma during his political career. Allegations of corruption became his main problem. In 2014, when after another victory of the ANC («African National Congress») party in the elections, Zuma again became president, the opposition demanded his resignation and did so five times during his second term. Zuma was accused of embezzling $ 16 million on his residence. The opposition collected data on 783 episodes of corruption, extortion and fraud when concluding government contracts for the purchase of weapons. In February 2018, Zuma retired early. He has repeatedly denied guilt, claiming that all monetary transactions were monitored by government intelligence agencies, while the country's ruling party, the African People's Congress, was under pressure from the opposition over the embezzlement scandal. Since 2014, the opposition has disrupted legislative meetings demanding that Jacob Zuma return the money to the state treasury. at auction in the USA
