In pictures: Fire destroys 138-year-old South African parliament | New Galleries

A large fire has engulfed the South African parliament building in Cape Town, causing great damage at a site where he witnessed some important moments in the country.

As firefighters struggled to control Sunday’s fire, a dark plume of smoke and fire rose over Cape Town. Police say a 49-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the fire, which has destroyed offices and caused some ceilings to collapse.

Officials say the fire started in the Old Assembly building, was built in 1884 and was originally located in parliament but is now used for offices. The National Assembly, built in the 1980s, was moved to the new National Building, where Parliament now stands.

Authorities caused extensive damage to both buildings, with sharp white facades, elaborate roof coverings and elegant columns, now obscured by flames and smoke. There was also a fear that the priceless artifacts inside, including an original manuscript of the South African national anthem of South Africa, would be lost forever.

While the Old Assembly building was closely linked to South African colonial and apartheid history, the building of the National Assembly, the former President of the FW de Klerk, was erected at the opening of parliament in 1990 and announced that Nelson Mandela would be released from prison and end effectively. the apartheid system of white minority rule.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and many of South Africa’s top politicians were in Cape Town the funeral of Desmond Tutu against the retired archbishop and apartheid on Saturday St. George’s Cathedral, a block from Parliament.

Many in the country took the double blow in the first two days of the new year after saying goodbye to Tuturi and then burning their parliament.

“It’s really a huge setback,” Ramaphosa said. “The bow would also be destroyed. This is the place where he protected and prayed.”