Andile Lungisa

Andile Lungisa (born 21 December 1979 in Tsomo, Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape) is a South African politician and the former deputy president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). Lungisa is also the former chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) of South Africa as well as the former President of the Pan-African Youth Union (PYU) and councillor of the ANC at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality in Port Elizabeth.[1][2][3] He is currently serving an effective two-year prison sentence for assaulting an opposition councillor during a brawl in a council session.[4]

Andile Lungisa
Member of mayoral committee (MMC) for the Department of Infrastructure and Engineering at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
In office
27 August 2018 – 2 August 2020
Deputy President of the African National Congress Youth League
In office
April 2008 – June 2011
Preceded byRuben Mohlaloga
Succeeded byRonald Lamola
Chairperson of the National Youth Development Agency
In office
April 2009 – April 2013
Preceded byoffice established
Succeeded byYeshern Pillay
President of the Pan-African Youth Union
In office
December 2011 – November 2014
Personal details
CitizenshipSouth Africa
NationalitySouth African
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Spouse(s)Ursula Sali
RelationsMarried
ResidencePort Elizabeth

Career

Early political career

Lungisa became active in politics from the age of 14 through the South African Students Congress (SASCO) in the early 1990s. He was later elected chairperson of SASCO in the region, which includes Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown. In 1998, Lungisa started an ANCYL branch in the western suburbs of Port Elizabeth called 'City Central', and became its executive committee member. In 2001, he was elected deputy regional chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Bay ANC region.

2008 - present

Lungisa was elected as the deputy president of the ANC Youth League in April 2008. He was elected to deputise Julius Malema who got elected president at the conference held in Mangaung. Vuyiswa Tulelo was elected national secretary-general, Steve Ngubeni the deputy secretary-general and Pule Mabe as treasurer-general.[5]

In 2009, Lungisa was supported by the ANCYL to go serve as the first chairperson of the newly established National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) when nominations for candidates opened in March 2009,[6] a position he held from April 2009 until April 2013 when Yershen Pillay took over.[7]

Lungisa was elected President of the Pan-African Youth Union (PYU) in a conference that took place from 2 to 5 December 2011 in Khartoum, Sudan. He had been Vice President of the structure for a three-year term.[8]

He currently serves as a councillor for the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. He was appointed the Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for the municipal Department of Infrastructure and Engineering in August 2020.[9]

He was elected as the regional chairperson of the ANC in the Nelson Mandela region in 2017[10] but resigned shortly afterwards when the national executive committee (NEC) found that he broke the Constitution for contesting on a regional level while serving as provincial executive committee (PEC) member.[11][12]

Controversies

In April 2018, Lungisa was found guilty of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm for hitting DA councillor Rano Kayser over the head with a glass water jug during a heated council meeting in October 2016. The incident was caught on camera and Lungisa was sentenced to 2 years. He said he acted in self-defense but Judge Morne Cannon of the Port Elizabeth Magistrates Court, said Lungisa changed his versions throughout the trial and his evidence could not be trusted.[13][14][15]

He began serving a prison sentence in September 2020 when the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal[16] On 25 September he was granted bail in the amount of R10,000 pending a Constitutional Court bid,[17] but elected to remain in prison.[18]

In October 2013, Lungisa and three others appeared before the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court over allegations of fraud and money-laundeering relating to a R2.5 million paid by the Department of Arts and Culture for the 'Nelson Mandela Sports Day concert'.[19] They allegedly promised that US singer R Kelly would perform at the concert, but he did not. Later it was discovered that R Kelly's management had been unaware of the event.[20] Their case was withdrawn in October 2016.[21]

In March 2017, Lungisa was asked to resign as Nelson Mandela ANC region chairperson having been in the position for less than a week. In terms of ANC Constitution, Lungisa was supposed to resign first as Eastern Cape ANC provincial executive committee (PEC) member before contesting on a lower level.[22][23] Lungisa resigned as a Member of Mayoral Committee on 2 August 2020 after attending a disciplinary hearing. He remains a municipal councillor.[24]

References
  1. Lungisa is a man of talents, [Sowetan Live, 11 June 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  2. Lungisa elected president of Pan-African Youth Union - ANCYL, Politics Web, 8 December 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  3. Nelson Mandela Bay ANC still battling factionalism, 9 September 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  4. Tandwa, Lizeka (17 September 2020). "After long saga, former ANCYL leader Andile Lungisa starts two-year jail term, NPA confirms".
  5. ANCYL elects top five, News24, 7 April 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  6. New youth agency has rocky start, Fin24, 1 March 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  7. fresh faces for NYDA board, Vukuzenzele, May 2013 Issue. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  8. Ministry congratulates Andile Lungisa, Government of South Africa, 7 December 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  9. State of disaster: Water crisis looming, News24, 14 April 2020
  10. Andile Lungisa elected to lead ANC in NMB, Politics Web, 12 March 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  11. [Andile Lungisa steps down as ANC regional chair - https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/politics/2017-03-27-lungisa-steps-down-as-anc-regional-chairpersonnec-backs-mantashe/ Lungisa steps down as chairperson, NEC backs Mantashe], Business Live, 27 March 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  12. Mantashe adamant that Lungisa should resign, eNCA, 18 March 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  13. ANC Eastern Cape heavyweight found guilty of assault, News24, 17 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  14. Andile Lungisa found guilty, Herald Live, 17 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  15. ANC's Andile Lungisa gets 2 years in jail, Daily Sun, 9 May 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  16. Judges demand retraction of offensive remarks from Andile Lungisa, The Citizen, 23 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020
  17. "Andile Lungisa granted bail". TheHerald. 25 Sep 2020.
  18. Mitchley, Alex (5 October 2020). "Andile Lungisa retracts remarks made about judges in his criminal case". News24.
  19. Former NYDA head Andile Lungisa arrested, News24, 4 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  20. Former NYDA boss Andile Lungisa arrested for fraud, Timeslive, 4 October 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  21. Lungisa returns to ANC job as fraud case is withdrawn, The Citizen, 7 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  22. Lungisa resigns ANC regional chair post after NEC cracks whip, Rise Fm, Retrieved 21 April 2020
  23. READ: Gwede Mantashe's angry letter to Zuma's anointed one, The Citizen, 14 March 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2020
  24. "Lungisa resigns as ANC mayoral committee member in NMB". eNCA. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
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