/ 3 March 2008

Luthuli House arson case postponed

The man accused of setting fire to the African National Congress Luthuli House headquarters last week will appear in court again on March 10.

Magistrate Steff Bezuidenhout on Monday said the case would be postponed so that the man’s particulars could be verified.

The man has not yet pleaded and he has told the court that he had made a statement and submitted it to President Thabo Mbeki’s office.

This was allegedly not the first time the man has used extreme measures to make his voice heard.

Police could not confirm reports that the man had earlier chained himself outside former president Nelson Mandela’s residence to protest his innocence about his ”unlawful 17 years of imprisonment”.

”We are not aware of any previous convictions,” said police spokesperson Superintendent Lungelo Dlamini.

The case continues. — Sapa