African National Congress (ANC) councillor in Nelson Mandela Bay remains defiant in the face of a defamation lawsuit against him.
South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago has dragged Lungisa to court over the latter’s alleged slurs on Twitter.
Lungisa allegedly called Kganyago the K-word in a tweet posted in June.
In another tweet, he allegedly referred to the Governor as a “dutiful servant of our racialist classes.”
The councillor apparently posted the tweets in reaction to Kganyago’s reference to those calling for SARB’s nationalisation as “barbarians at the gates of SARB”
Kganyago is seeking R500,000 in damages. However, Lungisa is adamant that he won’t pay.
In tweets he posted late on Tuesday, he said he was simply returning “insults with facts” and that the lawsuit is “an extortion.”
Lungisa criticised Lesetja and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, whom he referred to using his middle name Jamnandas, for believing that freedom of speech “is only for the settlers.”
Speaking to EWN, Lungisa suggested that he may not have the R500,000 Kganyago is demanding.
We are having people who have been given responsibility by our own organisation, the ANC.
Instead of focusing on core issues, they’re playing around calling for R500,000 from an ordinary member like me. Where am I going to get R500,000 from?
Andile Lungisa