Suspected Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe will not face a criminal trial after he was declared unfit to stand trial on Monday, almost two years after he allegedly set fire to the National Assembly building.

Judge Nathan Erasmus ruled in the Western Cape High Court on Monday that alleged Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe was not fit to stand trial and should be treated at a psychiatric facility.

Mafe allegedly set Parliament alight in the early hours of 2 January 2022. It is estimated that rebuilding it will cost R2-billion.

Mafe has been in jail since his arrest in January 2022, shortly after which district surgeon Dr Zelda van Tonder declared that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. He was charged with a variety of offences, including housebreaking with the intent to commit arson, terrorism and theft.

Handing down the judgment on Monday, Erasmus said he had based his finding on reports submitted by a panel at Fort England Psychiatric Hospital and Dr Naseema Cassimjee, a private psychiatrist appointed by Mafe's legal team.

''I'm of the view that a finding that Mafe is not capable of understanding the proceedings so as to make a proper defence and therefore my finding is in concurrence with the experts that, as commonly known, is a finding of not fit to stand trial.

''My declaration is that Mafe is unfit, unable to follow court proceedings and to make...