Cape Town - Disgraced Eastern Cape ANC politician Andile Lungisa on Thursday reported to prison to begin serving his two-year sentence for assaulting a fellow Nelson Mandela Bay councillor.
He was saluted by supporters as he arrived at the city's North End prison.
The National Prosecuting Authority confirmed, however, that Lungisa is planning to apply for bail to be released pending the outcome of his application for leave to appeal his sentence.
He turned to the Constitutional Court in a last-ditch attempt to have the sentence overturned after it was upheld earlier this month by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The SCA held that Lungisa had committed a serious crime with life-threatening consequences when he smashed a glass water jug over the head of fellow councillor Rayno Kayser in a meeting in 2016.
It is expected that Lungisa's lawyers will apply for bail on Monday morning.
He was ordered by the ruling party to resign his position as councillor and a member of the ANC's provincial executive committee following the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that those facing serious charges needed to leave their posts.
Lungisa was sentenced to three years in prison, with one year suspended, by the Grahamstown High Court in 2018 after he was convicted of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.
Kayser lost consciousness in the attack.
The high court later dismissed his appeal to both the conviction and the sentence.
He then tried to convince the SCA that his sentence was "shockingly" excessive, but the bench ruled that he had failed to live up to his standing and responsibilities as a councillor.
African News Agency (ANA)