LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Before their court battle, Andile Lungisa warned Mbalula of ‘electoral humiliation’
In an email to ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula before filing an urgent high court application over the removal of his name from the party’s candidate list, the party’s Andile Lungisa accused the national leadership of overriding branches and warned that Nelson Mandela Bay was ‘in free fall’.
Andile Lungisa, a member of the ANC National Executive Committee, warned ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula that Nelson Mandela Bay was "in free fall" before filing a high court application over his removal from the party's candidate list for the metro. In an email to Mbalula dated August 31, Lungisa accused the national leadership of overriding branches and communities to remove him as a mayoral candidate.
He claimed he had witnesses to support his allegations, but did not identify any specific individuals. Lungisa stated that he stood for the mayoralty of Nelson Mandela Bay despite serious reservations, as he did not want to see the ANC's "electoral humiliation" in the municipality. His candidacy has been a contentious issue, with the ANC's Veterans' League questioning whether his criminal record should disqualify him.
Lungisa maintains that the five-year bar on convicted officials does not apply to him, as he believes the party's internal rule was waived at the 2022 national conference.
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