Andile Lungisa calls lockdown violation charges nonsense

Former ANC Youth League deputy president Andile Lungisa has said his prosecution for violation of lockdown regulations was a total waste of time.

Lungisa made the comments shortly after his brief court appearance in the Motherwell Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Lungisa stands accused of contravening Alert Level 4 of the Disaster Management Act by convening an illegal gathering of about 30 people at Addo Road and Malinge Street in Motherwell in July, in protest against former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration for contempt of court.

The National Prosecuting Authority said the gathering was allegedly politically motivated.

NPA spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said the case had been postponed to 26 October for plea and trial.

Lungisa is currently out on warning and has been ordered not to interfere with the investigation or communicate with any of the witnesses.

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Asked how he was planning to plead, Lungisa said: “This case is nonsense and a waste of time. I just attend the court case because I am summoned.”

Lungisa, a former Nelson Mandela Bay councillor, has been suspended from the ANC for 18 months in connection with his council brawl conviction dating back to October 2016.

His suspension is in line with the ANC policy of disciplining members facing serious formal charges or convictions.

This is after he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for smashing a full glass water jug over the head of fellow council member Rano Kayser during a meeting.

He only spent two months in prison before he was released on parole on 1 December last year, but was ordered by the court to pay more than R800 000 to Kayser.