African National Congress provincial councillor Andile Lungisa has been found guilty of the intention to do grievous bodily harm.
Port Elizabeth Magistrate Morne Cannon found that Lungisa intentionally smashed a glass jug over the head of former mayoral committee member for transport Rano Kayser during a Nelson Mandela Bay council meeting which turned chaotic in October 2016.
The ANC in the Nelson Mandela Bay says they will appeal the verdict.
The 2016 council meeting ended in bloodshed and hospitalisation for former mayoral committee member Kayser.
Video footage shows Lungisa as the attacker. The video footage was accepted by the court.
Lungisa pleaded not guilty to charges of assault citing that he had acted in self- defence.
Four witnesses gave evidence in favour of Kayser, that it was found to credible and matched the video footage.
The court found there was no reason for Lungisa to hit Kayser.
The magistrate labelled Lungisa’s version of events as evasive with inconsistencies and contradictions.
The ANC says they will support Lungisa and appeal the judgment
ANC’s Themba Xathula says: “As the ANC we are still continuing to support Andile because he was part of the collective when he was engaging with the DA led coalition in the council.”
The Democratic Alliance has welcomed the judgment
DA’s Werner Senekal says: “We welcome the judgment and the verdict that was made by the court, an independent court it does set a precedent for all council in the chambers who debate in and we welcome the judgment.”
Another ANC councillor, Gamalihleli Maqula, was acquitted earlier in the trial.
He also faced a charge of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm stemming from the same council meeting.
Lungisa’s attorney, Luthando Ngqakayi is expected to argue mitigating factors during Lungisa’s next court appearance.
Lungisa’s bail has been extended and sentencing will take place on the 9th of May.
