Yengeni gets ANC greenlight to vie for leadership position

Tony Yengeni is free to contest for an ANC position if he so wishes.

This comes after the ANC electoral committee, chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe, accepted the merits of Yengeni’s appeal against being barred from contesting for party positions because of his criminal conviction.

“The electoral committee has duly decided to uphold your appeal based on the substantive reasons and proof of the expungement of your criminal records as furnished by yourself.

“We therefore wish to confirm that you are no longer disqualified from being a candidate for the NEC positions during the 55th national conference of the ANC,” reads the appeal letter.

Yengeni was disqualified from contesting for a position in the ANC NEC as he had been convicted of fraud and sentenced to four years imprisonment. He served four months before being released on parole.

Yengeni pleaded guilty to fraud charges in 2003, relating to him using his role as chairperson of the joint standing committee on defence of parliament to score a discount when he bought a luxury Mercedes Benz.

The court found he had accepted the discount from the company involved in a bid for one of the arms deal contracts at a time when he was a member of the parliamentary committee overseeing the same deal.

In his appeal against the ANC electoral committee’s decision, Yengeni argued that his criminal record had been expunged and should therefore not be a factor in the committee’s vetting decisions.