ANC instructs Andile Lungisa to resign from NMB mayoral committee
The councillor was convicted for hitting Democratic Alliance councillor Rano Kayser on the head with a glass jug.
Andile Lungisa. Picture: Gallo images
African National Congress (ANC) national officials have reportedly instructed Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) ANC councillor Andile Lungisa to immediately resign as a member of the city’s mayoral committee.
He heads up the infrastructure and engineering department.
The #ANC national officials have instructed NMB Metro councilor #AndileLungisa to resign as member of the Mayoral Committee with immediate effect. #SabcNews
— rhulani baloyi (@rhulani1baloyi) November 13, 2018
Lungisa was found guilty of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s court earlier this year.
Lungisa was convicted for hitting Democratic Alliance councillor Rano Kayser on the head with a glass jug. Cellphone footage of the assault shows Lungisa using the glass jug and breaking it on Kayser before running away.
He was sentenced to two years in prison but is appealing the conviction and sentence in the Eastern Cape High Court.
The ANC’s provincial working committee decided at a meeting last month that Lungisa needed to step down as a mayoral committee member.
In October, the ANC in the Eastern Cape said it would act against Lungisa, who refused to vacate his mayoral committee position, ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi said.
“The provincial working committee is going to act and implement the ANC NEC decision,” Ngcukayitobi said.
He said it was made clear to Lungisa that he could not serve on any municipal executive structure while he had a court judgment against him.
“The removal of Lungisa is in line with ANC deployment policy which says people that have court judgments against them cannot serve in any executive authority positions,” Ngcukayitobi said.
He said Lungisa could remain as an ordinary ANC councillor until the court ruled on his appeal.
The former mayor, Athol Trollip, has slammed the new coalition government for promoting Lungisa to the mayoral committee, “by his crooked colleague Bobani, to head up the biggest and most important department with the biggest budget”.
EFF leader Julius Malema, whose party has supported the new coalition headed by UDM mayor Mongameli Bobani, also criticised the city for electing Lungisa. He told Lungisa that he shouldn’t have made the mistake of even availing himself for election in the first place.
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