The African National Congress (ANC) has issued a scathing rebuke against senior national executive committee (NEC) member, Andile Lungisa, declaring unequivocally that deployment is not an entitlement.
The strongly worded response follows an urgent legal challenge brought before the High Court of South Africa in Johannesburg by Lungisa, who targeted the party, its leadership, and its Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, after being dropped from candidate lists ahead of the upcoming 4 November 2026 local government elections.
The ANC expressed deep dismay that a leader of Lingisa’s stature within the movement chose to meet his comrades across a courtroom in lieu of utilising internal dispute resolution mechanisms established by the movement. “It is a sorrowful thing for a movement of this age to meet a comrade across a courtroom over a matter that our own structures were established to resolve,” the ANC statement reads. Whilst rebuking the notion of self-interest by the former ANC Youth League (ANCYL) deputy president, the party also revealed that initial reports from vetting agencies showed that Lungisa had not attended that process - which includes the taking of biometric prints necessary to complete criminal record assessments.
These checks subsequently set off questions regarding Lungisa’s eligibility for mayoral candidacy, pointing directly to his public conviction and sentence that was confirmed on appeal by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). Lungisa was found guilty by the Gqeberha Magistrate Court in April 2018 for a physical attack on the Democratic Alliance (DA) Councillor, Rano Kayser, during a heated council meeting in the Metro’s council chambers in October 2016.
He was sentenced to two years direct imprisonment. Invoking the historic philosophy of Through the Eye of the Needle, the ANC emphasised. that its renewal program applies without fear, favour or exception. “However popular an individual may be, and however long their service, this movement was founded on servant leadership and not on entitlement to government position,” the statement continued. Having opted for the courts instead of exhausting internal party procedures, Lungisa has potentially set himself up for a possible internal party disciplinary hearing after the local government polls.
His party membership may possibly be on the line depending on how this potential disciplinary process unfolds. Meanwhile, The ANC national working committee is in the Eastern Cape to engage with its structures, in the province and conduct general assessments of their election work and preparations ahead of the November polls. The NWC programme runs from today, 4 October, until Wednesday, 7 October 2026.
