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New information released in the Parliament fire investigation states that Zandile Mafe, the alleged Parliament arsonist, spent 30 hours in the National Assembly building before setting fire to a stack of boxes. A senior Police official confirmed that there were two cops on duty as Mafe entered the building on 2 January, one cop was asleep, the other had headphones on. According to News24, “the police source confirmed that Mafe was seen on the footage making several telephone calls while inside Parliament, but said they were unaware that he had phoned the police. His cellphone was seized and would undergo forensic analysis to determine who he had called.”

Despite the pandemic and many challenges learners faced, the matric class of 2021 received a total pass rate of 76.4 percent. Angie Motshega, Basic Education Minister congratulated matriculants on their “high-quality passes”. “The classes of 2020 and 2021 produced the best results of quality in the history of the NSC exams,” said Motshega. The individual matric results will be released at their respective schools today.

Here are the top trending stories of the day.

Headline: EXCLUSIVE | On duty cop asleep in control room as Zandile Mafe spent ’30 hours’ inside Parliament – News24 (for subscribers) 

Headline: 2021 Matric Results | Motshekga: Best results in history of NSC – eCNA

Headline: Showdown looms after Lindiwe Sisulu denies Presidency statement that she apologised and retracted her attack on judges – Daily Maverick 

Headline: Jota double fires Liverpool into League Cup final – News24

Headline: SA’s Proteas coach Mark Boucher faces charges which could lead to dismissal – African Insider

Headline: Tearful Adele pulls plug on Las Vegas show – EWN

Headline: Elon Musk’s Neuralink hiring clinical trial director as it moves towards testing chip implants in humans – Busines Insider

Headline: Matric results aren’t always a party. Here’s where you can go for help – EWN 

Image credit: NPR