According to South African Police, a man has been arrested and charged after a fire severely damaged the House of Parliament in Cape Town on Sunday.

Police said the suspect, who is not a parliamentary employee, is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday facing charges of arson, housebreaking, and theft.

Security guards who were present noted that the fire started at 6:00 am on Sunday and 35 firefighters initially on the scene quickly called for reinforcements.

Further reports pointed out that the fire started in the old assembly building which was built in 1884 and originally housed the parliament but is now being used for offices. The fire spread to the newer National Assembly building initially built in 1980, which is where the parliament now sits.

Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa saw the incident as a terrible setback and a major blow on the first two days of the new year.

“It’s really just a terrible setback,” Ramaphosa said. “The arch (Tutu) would have been devastated as well as this is a place he supported and prayed for,” he added.

Parliament Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula cautioned against speculation that it was a deliberate attack on South Africa’s seat of Democracy.

“Until such a time that a report has been furnished that there was arson, we have to be careful not to meet suggestions that there was an attack,” she said.

As it stands, Cape Town has seen arson attacks before, as last year a huge wildfire on the slopes of Cape Town’s famed Table Mountain spread to buildings below and destroyed part of a historic library at the University of Cape Town as well as other structures.