An internal investigation has found that a fire that gutted South Africa’s parliament in January 2022 could have been prevented.
The findings show that five people have been implicated in a series of systems and security failures, which preceded the blaze that took three days to extinguish.
“The fire could’ve been prevented had reasonable care been taken to ensure that those drivers of vulnerability did not materialise,” said parliament secretary Xolile George, who revealed a host of other shocking revelations.
He said no parliamentary protection officers were on duty on the night of the fire because it was a public holiday.
The probe also found that no-one was monitoring security cameras and that the sprinkler systems, smoke detectors and a number of CCTV cameras were not working at the time, Mr George said.
It was also revealed that the fire-gutted building had not been insured.
The Democratic Alliance, the country’s main opposition party, said the findings demonstrated that criminal negligence had led to the “destruction of South Africa’s symbol of democracy”.
It is expected that reconstruction of the 138 year-old National Assembly chamber will be completed in 2025 and is estimated to cost more than $100m (£82m).
A man alleged to have started the fire was charged with arson and terrorism, but has been declared unfit to stand trial because of mental illness.