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Homeless man reportedly ‘breaches’ State Security Agency headquarters

───   12:34 Mon, 07 Feb 2022

Homeless man reportedly ‘breaches’ State Security Agency headquarters | News Article

Since the fire at Parliament started the year, there has been a big debate around “homeless” people at national key points.

The problem isn’t the homeless people. But the Parliament incident has started a discussion as to whether the people trying to get into national key points, are really even homeless? A new report claims that a homeless man managed to full-on breach the security at the State Security Agency (SSA).

Yes, it is as bizarre as it sounds.

Did a homeless man “breach” the State Security Agency?

City Press reports that a homeless man “allegedly gained unauthorised access” to the Musanda headquarters of the SSA in Tshwane. The newspaper is even going as far as accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government of keeping the whole thing quiet.

The man reportedly breached security on the 21st of January. That was the same weekend that the Waterkloof Air Force Base, another national key point, was engulfed in flames.

So does this mean that the SSA headquarters was being targeted too?

“The expansive Musanda complex is located in a remote area far from any urban activity or main road, and is heavily guarded with manpower and technology. The breach comes as the agency is dealing with internal battles over the rehiring of retired spies.”

What if a homeless man did breach the State Security Agency? One wonders what a homeless person was doing at a heavily armed location far away from much else?

Let’s be clear about the fire at Waterkloof though. The South African National Defence Force is adamant that that fire broke out due to a burst fuel pump.

READ MORE: Waterkloof Air Force Base fire: SANDF completes preliminary investigation

Last month, parts of the National Assembly were left gutted after a fire was started inside one of its buildings. One man, Zandile Mafe, is behind bars for allegedly starting the fire. He was also first described as homeless. Investigators then discovered that he had a home in the Khayelitsha area.

Mafe was denied bail this week and faces charges of arson and terrorism.

That’s not all though.

On Sunday, a fire started inside the basement of the iconic St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town. The church itself is labelling the fire as an act of arson.

The Citizen reports a fire, started by an arsonist, broke out overnight at the cathedral where Archbishop Desmond Tutu is buried, a church leader announced on Sunday.

The fire was detected in the basement of a section of St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town at around 2am.

“The fire was an act of arson,” father Michael Weeder, dean at the cathedral, said in a note to his parish.

“It appears that a lit piece of cotton/gauze was thrown through the small, barred window near the steps leading up to the cathedral’s (main)… entrance,” he said.

“Someone was spotted running away from the cathedral.”

Firefighters quickly put out the fire, and other than “traces of smoke… there was no discernable damage done,” he added.

READ MORE: Arson blamed as fire breaks out at church where Tutu is buried


The South African

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