Lungisa receives a warm welcome after a stint in prison

Lungisa receives a warm welcome after a stint in prison

by | Dec 2, 2020

ANC Eastern Cape top gun Andile Lungisa returned home to a hero’s welcome on Tuesday. Lungisa was released from jail on parole after serving two months of his two-year jail term for hitting DA councillor, Rano Kayser, with a jug full of water in 2016 during a heated council meeting.

Correctional Services Spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo, says his release is part of the President’s Special Remission of Sentences aimed at reducing overcrowding in prisons.

 It reduced Lungisa’s sentence by a year, making him one of the over 14 000 inmates who have benefitted from the Special Remission of Sentence.

“Classified as a first time offender with a positive support system, and having responded positively to rehabilitation programmes, parole placement for Lungisa is in line with Section 73(7)(a) of the Correctional Services Act. The Act determines the minimum period of sentence that must be served before consideration for possible parole placement. This must be read together with Section 276(1)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Act as it stipulates a mandatory one sixth of the sentence to be served before any consideration for parole,” Nxumalo says.

The Andile Lungisa Campaign organised the welcoming bash for the former ANC Youth League leader.

His supporters gathered at the Vuyisile Mini Square in Port Elizabeth.

“He is the hero amongst heroes and his history of activism speaks for itself. He was sent to jail for defending the gains made by fighting for democracy,” the Release Lungisa Campaign has said.

Former North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo was one of the former ANC leaders who welcomed Lungisa back into society.

Mahumapelo accused some people of working hard to destroy Lungisa’s political career.

On his part, Lungisa said he went to prison because he fought the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The DA governed the Nelson Mandela Bay metro until Athol Trollip was ousted during a council vote in 2018.

Lungisa says he doesn’t lose sleep thinking about his victim, Kayser.

@Nazo_Buso

Lungisa called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to stop attacking his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. Lungisa believes the ANC’s fight against corruption is selective. He says while some governing party leaders are targeted in the crusade, some are persecuted within the party due to dissenting views. He also blamed the COVID-19 crisis in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro to lack of leadership.

The former deputy president of the ANC Youth League also blasted the country’s leadership for failure to pluck poor South Africans out of poverty. He says he will be visiting villages in preparation for, what he termed, the biggest conference the country has seen. 

He says that’s where they will table an economic programme for South Africa before the ANC’s National General Council. The governing party was due to be held in the second half of the year but was postponed due to COVID-19. It has now been scheduled for May 2021.

The NGC discusses and debates strategic organisational and political issues facing the movement. While it charts the way forward – it cannot change policies or resolutions adopted by the party’s five-yearly national conference. 

The ANC Eastern Cape Provincial Executive Committee says it will release a statement on the Lungisa matter in due course.

South Africans have meanwhile reacted with mixed views to the former ANC Youth League deputy president’s release from prison, with some questioning the country’s justice system.

Ramaphosa visits Ladysmith

Ramaphosa visits Ladysmith

by | Apr 23, 2019

After sustained community protests, President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Ekuvukeni, outside Ladysmith, at the weekend and promised to fast track service delivery and create job opportunities.

With less than three weeks to go before voting day, the president’s visit comes after residents refused to listen to community safety and liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda, and took a bus to Dannhauser, 75km away, to pose questions to Ramaphosa.

The community has been protesting about issues with water supply and broken sewage pipes. Ramaphosa told them he would act against government officials who were not delivering services, according to a report on Timeslive, but appealed to them not to prevent children from attending school.

The president’s visit started at the home of Joseph Shabalala, the founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He also went to the Nazareth Baptist Church (Shembe), before ending at Ekuvukeni. – Nqubeko FM (edited by Siya Motha)

Residents crash school opening hoping to question Ramaphosa

Residents crash school opening hoping to question Ramaphosa

by | Apr 18, 2019

When residents of Ekuvukeni heard that President Cyril Ramaphosa would be visiting nearby Dannhauser to open a school, they travelled there by bus to go and ask him questions.

This comes after a community protest at Ekuvukeni in March when Community Safety and Liaison MEC Mxolisi Kaunda was forced to abandon a meeting with the community, as members demanded to see the president instead. As previously reported on Localvoices.co.za, Kaunda was accused of lying to and disrespecting the community.

Community members are angry about the lack of water and broken sewage pipes. A contractor was sent to the area after this incident, but residents have still insisted they want their grievances heard.

The towns are around 75km apart, near Newcastle in KwaZulu Natal. 

President Ramaphosa was in the area with MEC for Economic Development, Tourism & Environmental Affairs Sihle Zikalala and MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal Mthandeni Dlungwana to officially open the R130m Enhlahleni Primary School.

Despite their trip to see the president on 17 April, they were not given an opportunity to ask questions.  Disappointed pupils’ and residents of Ekuvukeni said they still want to speak to the president and the Minister of Basic Education. – Nqubeko community radio (edited by Siya Motha)