[ad_1]
- Andile Lungisa will have to wait until Friday to find out his destination.
- Lungisa applied for bail after appealing to the Constitutional Court for his assault conviction.
- His family says they are optimistic that he will receive bail.
Andile Lungisa, a convicted criminal and former leader of the ANC Youth League, must wait until Friday to find out if the Grahamstown Superior Court will grant him bail, the NPA confirmed.
NPA regional spokeswoman Anelisa Ngcakani said the ruling could be published on Wednesday or Friday.
Lungisa is currently serving his two-year prison sentence at the North End Prison in Port Elizabeth, historically known as “Rooi Hell.”
Lungisa was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison (one year suspended) for assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm in 2018, News24 reported.
The conviction was for breaking a glass water jug on the head of councilman Rano Kayser during a council fight in 2016.
READ | Andile Lungisa: ‘I will go to jail, if I go to jail, and I will come back to liberate my community’
He appealed his sentence to the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA), which rejected his request last week after finding there was no basis to interfere with the lower court’s ruling.
It found that the lower court had adequately balanced the circumstances of Lungisa, the nature and gravity of the crime committed, and the interests of society.
Lungisa has now turned to the Constitutional Court in hopes of overturning his conviction.
Lungisa’s younger brother and former ANCYL leader in the province, Ayongezwa, said the family was “optimistic” of a favorable outcome.
“However, as a family, we would have wanted the determination made today, but we believe that we should give that space so that a final determination can be made. The attorneys provided something very good in their arguments, citing inconsistencies in how the matter was handled .
“For now, we believe that a judgment will be in favor of us, the people of South Africa and the youth of the continent,” said the young Lungisa.
He added that Lungisa supporters had written to Vice President David Mabuza, requesting his help regarding their concerns about how Lungisa’s case was “handled”.
He added that the family was encouraged by the Superior Court’s admission that the matter should be handled as quickly as possible, “because it has elements of contamination from the country, which is something the judiciary would not want to happen.
