After a recent fire incident at the parliament precinct, the South African Parliament announced on Friday that its main programme, the State of the Nation Address (SONA), will be held at the historic City Hall of Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.

Every year, the President of South Africa convenes a joint session of the National Assembly (NA), the lower house, and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house, to deliver the State of the Nation Address (SONA). However, the fire, which began on Sunday and lasted more than 70 hours, seriously damaged the NA building and entirely destroyed the NA chamber, which was used to hold the event, forcing the parliament to find a new location. The City Hall was chosen as an appropriate location for the event, which is set for Feb. 10, based on its infrastructure and capacity, as well as its "historical value," according to a statement from the parliament.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela addressed the country for the first time after his release from jail on Feb. 11, 1990, at City Hall in the city centre, which was erected in 1905. Mandela was unveiled to South Africans at the same balcony of the building on May 9, 1994, after being elected as the country's first democratic president. The legislature guaranteed that its work would not be derailed or hindered.

The State of the Nation Address is the single time when the 3 branches — the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary — come together under one roof. After monitoring the situation and searching the inside of buildings for potential flare-ups, firefighters withdrew completely from the legislative area on Thursday.

The origin of the fire, which also destroyed the century-old Old Assembly building, which housed the upper chamber, is still unknown, but a 49-year-old man "supposedly related to lighting parliament building on fire" was detained and appeared in court on Tuesday. The cause of the fire is presently being investigated by law enforcement officials.

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