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- Andile Lungisa retracted the comments he made about the judges who heard the appeals against his sentence and conviction for assault on GBH.
- Before surrendering himself to serve, he began serving his sentence, he accused the judges of political interference.
- Lungisa was found guilty and sentenced for breaking a jug on the head of a councilor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office during a fight at a council meeting in 2016.
Convicted criminal Andile Lungisa has retracted comments he made that his case was not decided fairly due to political interference and the affiliation of the judges involved.
In a statement posted on the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) twitter account, Lungisa officially withdrew the comments he made on September 17 when he appeared at the North End Correctional Center to begin serving a two-year sentence of imprisonment for assault with intent to do serious bodily harm.
The retraction concerned comments Lungisa made about the two Grahamstown Superior Court judges who heard the appeal against his conviction and sentence, the five appeals court judges who heard the appeal against his sentence, as well as the presiding judge from Eastern Cape.
“I admit that my statement regarding the above-mentioned judges was false and without merit and therefore unlawful,” Lungisa said in a statement Monday.
SCA Registrar Paul Myburgh confirmed the authenticity of the Twitter account.
READ | Andile Lungisa remains innocent when entering prison, beats the judges
News24 previously reported that the country’s top judges had been offended by Lungisa’s accusations.
SCA President Mandisa Maya, SCA judges and Chief Justice of the Eastern Cape Division of the Superior Court, Selby Mbenenge, noted with dismay Lungisa’s statements that her case was not “fairly decided because the political and family affiliations of the undue influence of the judges in the respective courts “.
Independence
In a statement, RSA Judiciary spokesperson Nathi Mncube said the comments were allusive, false and undermined the integrity of the judiciary and judicial independence.
Mncube added that the comments constitute crimes of contempt of court and crime of injury.
“Without evidence, such allegations cannot be investigated. The rights of President Maya, the SCA judges involved and Presiding Judge Mbenenge remain reserved, and they have demanded a retraction of Mr. Lungisa’s offensive comments,” he said at the time.
READ | ‘Allusive and false comments’: the Judiciary responds to complaints of political interference by Andile Lungisa
In early September, Lungisa was granted bail pending the outcome of another request for permission to appeal, this time to the Constitutional Court.
The higher court has not yet announced whether they will hear the matter.
Despite being granted bail, Lungisa, through his brother, Ayongezwa, announced that he had chosen to remain in prison.
Lungisa was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison (one year suspended) in 2019 for breaking a glass jug on the head of DA councilman Rano Kayser during a fight at a council meeting in 2016.
He has maintained his innocence, claiming that he acted in self-defense.
However, the Eastern Cape High Court dismissed the appeal against his conviction and sentence, while the appeals court dismissed an appeal against his sentence and did not hear the appeal against the conviction.
READ | Andile Lungisa decides to stay in prison despite being granted bail
