EDITORIAL | Lungisa’s short stroll to freedom sends the wrong message

Andile Lungisa was released from prison on Tuesday after spending just 75 days of a two-year sentence behind bars. He was convicted of aggravated assault for smashing a glass jug over the head of DA councillor Rano Kayser in the Nelson Mandela Metro council chambers.

Despite the nature of the offence, the 41-year-old member of the Jacob Zuma-aligned radical economic transformation faction told a press conference at a hotel in the city that he was a “political prisoner”.

“I went to prison because we fought the DA,” Lungisa said, adding his body may have been imprisoned, but his mind was in the streets of SA.

It is hard to imagine Mandela ever smashing a glass jug over the head of a fellow municipal councillor of a rival political party.

Amplifying his claim to political prisoner status, Lungisa said he now understood why former president Nelson Mandela and the Rivonia Triallists compromised with the apartheid government “because it is difficult in prison just to sleep [there] a second day”.

Lungisa’s bid to stay out of jail – which he said didn’t suit him because there was overcrowding, no privacy and appalling food – failed at the Constitutional Court.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Lungisa was flanked by prominent members of his faction – including four-day finance minister Des van Rooyen, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo and former Eastern Cape MEC of agriculture and rural development Mlibo Qoboshiyane – who are known for their strong opposition to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ironically, it is Ramaphosa he has to thank for not having to spend a 76th night behind bars.

“The Special Remission of Sentences granted by Ramaphosa on 16 December 2019 reduced Lungisa’s sentence by 12 months. Over 14,000 inmates benefited from the Special Remission of Sentence,” read a statement on his release by correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo.

“This parole placement means that Lungisa will serve the remainder of the sentence in the system of community corrections, wherein he will be expected to comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to supervision until the sentence expires.”

Lungisa’s claim to being a political prisoner hangs on the thinnest of threads. It is difficult to explain assaulting a colleague in council chambers as a political act. Furthermore, saying he “understands” Mandela’s compromise after he spent a mere 75 days in jail compared to the former statesman’s 27 years – most of which were spent under far worse conditions on Robben Island – leaves more than a bad taste in the mouth.

Justice minister Ronald Lamola, in announcing the remission of sentences on Reconciliation Day last year, said: “The department must address the reconciliation of the offender with the community and heal the relationship with victims. This includes restoration of trust and or loss where applicable, as an integral part of rehabilitation and reintegration. Non-reconciliation with the community increases the risk of recidivism and the offender remains alienated from the community.”

Lamola explained the reasoning behind it and referred to the overcrowding of our prisons. At the time of his announcement, there were 163,015 offenders across the country’s 243 correctional centres.

He promised that those released on parole would be closely monitored by correctional services officials.

Lamola ended his speech with a quote by Mandela: “Our stalwart for freedom and democracy, Tata Nelson Mandela, once said: ‘In the end, reconciliation is a spiritual process, which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people.’”

For a politician to be convicted of aggravated assault and then claim he was jailed because he “fought the DA” (it wasn’t his fault!) is less than reconciliatory. His release on parole was legally sound, but it sends the wrong message. It tells SA our government has long given up on the battle to hold its leaders to the standards of integrity and accountability.