- Andile Lungisa retracted comments he made about the judges who heard the appeals against his sentence and conviction for assault GBH.
- Before handing himself over to serve start serving his sentence, he accused the judges of political interference.
- Lungisa was convicted and sentenced for smashing a jug on the head of a DA councillor during a scuffle at a council meeting in 2016.
Convicted criminal Andile Lungisa has retracted remarks he made about his case not being fairly decided because of political interference and the affiliations of the judges involved.
In a statement posted on the Supreme Court of Appeal's (SCA) twitter account, Lungisa officially withdrew the remarks he made on 17 September when he presented himself at the North End Correctional Facility to start serving a two-year prison sentence for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
The retraction concerned comments Lungisa made about the two Grahamstown High Court judges who heard the appeal against his conviction and sentence, the five appellate court judges who heard the appeal against his sentence, as well as the Eastern Cape judge president.
"I admit that my statement regarding the above-mentioned judges were false and without merit and thus wrongful," Lungisa said in a statement on Monday.
The SCA registrar Paul Myburgh confirmed the authenticity of the Twitter account.
News24 previously reported that the country's top judges had taken offence over the allegations by Lungisa.
The president of the SCA, Mandisa Maya, SCA judges and the judge president of the Eastern Cape Division of the high court, Selby Mbenenge, noted with consternation the remarks Lungisa made that his case was not "fairly decided due to the political and familial affiliations of the judges' undue influence at the respective courts".
Independence
In a statement, spokesperson for RSA Judiciary, Nathi Mncube, said the remarks were allusive, false and undermined the integrity of the judiciary and judicial independence.
Mncube added that the comments constituted contempt of court and crimen injuria offences.
"Without evidence, such allegations cannot be investigated. The rights of president Maya, the SCA judges concerned and Judge President Mbenenge remain reserved, and they have demanded a retraction of the offensive remarks from Mr Lungisa," he said at the time.
Earlier in September, Lungisa was granted bail pending the outcome of another leave to appeal application, this time before the Constitutional Court.
The apex court has not yet announced whether they will hear the matter.
Even though granted bail, Lungisa, through his brother, Ayongezwa, then announced that he had opted to remain in prison.
Lungisa was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment (one year suspended) in 2019 for smashing a glass jug on the head of DA councillor Rano Kayser during a scuffle at a council meeting in 2016.
He has maintained his innocence, claiming that he acted in self-defence.
However, the Eastern Cape High Court dismissed the appeal against his conviction and sentence, while the appellate court dismissed an appeal against his sentence and would not hear the appeal against the conviction.