The man charged with burning Parliament in South Africa, 49-year-old Zandile Christmas Mafe, may not be the culprit but a hapless, homeless individual.

That is the gist of a counter-narrative occupying many South Africans in the wake of the destruction of one of this country’s most treasured buildings, and for which there seems little in the way of sensible explanation from the government.

Mafe denies all charges through his lawyer, who is operating pro bono for a man he says is a scapegoat, unfortunate enough to have been found near the scene.

He is accused of arson, housebreaking, theft and being found with explosives.

It is this last claim that has driven a fierce reaction by suspicious South Africans who see ministers and officials pointing the finger of blame at everyone but themselves.

Many questions are swirling around. Why did the revamped sprinkler system work? Who turned off the water valve that fed the sprinklers? Where were police officers assigned to guard the structure and why did the caretaker and security staff not pick up the intrusion and fire on the CCTV monitors?

There are, in the words of a senior security analyst, “lots of things that just don’t add up”.

Relevant security camera footage have been handed over to the top police investigating unit, the Hawks.

With far more questions than answers, South Africans have voiced growing scepticism of official accounts in social and traditional media.

Reporters have gone to the accused man’s home in Signal Hill, near Mahikeng, to speak to his older brother Alfred who said he was shocked by the accusation.

Alfred Mafe said his brother is not violent.

Family assertions of the accused’s innocence aside, social media has been awash with comments around official failures which led to the fire, but also questioning the arrest.

“The accused man, who has been remanded until January 11, is merely a victim of mistaken identity and a convenient scapegoat,” his legal representative said after the hearing.

Even members of the street community of homeless people living near Parliament do not believe the accused had anything to do with the crime.

Questions go far beyond the speculations, with forensic fraud and criminal investigators who have profiled Mafe saying he appears to have been swept up by authorities belatedly galvanised into action, while the fire was raging, and “looking for any likely suspect to blame”.

“Look up this man’s credit profile. He’s never held a job or had contact details. He’s a true homeless person,” said an investigator.

Supporting the idea that the wrong man was being blamed, pictures of a man said to be Mafe, asleep in the street near the burnt Parliamentary complex, have been circulating.

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