- Andile Lungisa has been served with a notice to hand himself over within 48 hours to begin his jail term.
- He was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
- Confusion reigned over Lungisa’s proposed timelines to file an appeal with the Constitutional Court.
ANC Nelson Mandela Bay councillor and former ANC Youth League deputy president Andile Lungisa has until Thursday to hand himself over to the correctional services department, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has said.
Lungisa was initially served with a notice last week to hand himself over within 48 hours, but on Tuesday NPA spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said that notice was wrongly executed.
“There was a technicality with regards to how the notice was delivered by the court. It has now been delivered properly. Therefore, 48 hours commences today. It expires on Thursday, 17 September 2020.”
On Tuesday morning, Lungisa told News24 he was on his way to the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda to sign legal documents for a Constitutional Court appeal.
“The process of launching an appeal at the Constitutional Court begins here at the Grahamstown High Court, so we are on our way with my legal team to sign legal documents,” said Lungisa during a short phone call.
But Lungisa’s attorney, Alwyn Griebenow, said: “I don’t know why he went to Grahamstown High Court today because there was no hearing in Grahamstown, I don’t know why he [Lungisa] went there, there was no arrangement for us to be there, no date for bail application has been confirmed and we are still waiting to get that confirmation. I sent through intention to the state advocate and requested to hear from her when we can bring the application before court.”
Griebenow said he has drafted papers for an application to the ConCourt and that he is in the process of filing those papers, “and we have applied for bail to be extended pending the outcome of the Constitutional Court [appeal]”.
If there is no extension of bail, Lungisa needs to report to the clerk of the court by Thursday to resume jail time, confirmed Griebenow.
DispatchLive reported that confusion reigned outside the High Court in Makhanda over whether or not there would be a bail application.
Lungisa was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in 2018.
The conviction was for smashing a glass water jug on a DA councillor Rano Kayser’s head during a scuffle in council in 2016.
Lungisa had been out on bail pending the outcome of an appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) in Bloemfontein.
On Friday, the NPA asked Lungisa to hand himself in after the SCA dismissed his appeal.
The SCA said it found no basis to interfere with the sentence imposed by the trial court on the grounds that the court had appropriately balanced the appellant’s personal circumstances, the nature and seriousness of the crime committed and the interest of society.
News24 reported that Lungisa had been handed a letter of suspension by the provincial executive committee, together with an instruction to resign from his position in council.
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