Former African National Congress Chief Whip Tony Yengeni might not have to report to jail just yet -‒ despite missing a deadline to seek leave to appeal against his four-year-prison sentence.
He could apply for condonation of late filing of his application for leave to appeal, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein said on Monday. The Pretoria High Court turned down Yengeni’s application for leave to appeal his fraud sentence on April 26.
Legislation stipulated that he had 21 ”all days” — or 21 days calculated on a seven day week — from that date to petition the president of the SCA for leave to appeal, said SCA registrar H Snyman.
However, the president of the SCA had since directed that the period be extended in practice to 21 court days — calculated on a five day week.
”His [Yengeni’s] 21 days expired on May 29,” said Snyman.
”He hasn’t lodged any documents with us by this stage.”
While this meant Yengeni was out of time to file his petition, it did not necessarily mean he would have to report to jail. That depended on the conditions imposed when his bail was extended, Snyman pointed out.
Yengeni’s bail of R10 000 was increased to R30 000 and extended on May 17 by Pretoria High Court Judges Eberhardt Bertelsmann and Ferdi Preller.
The extension was made pending the serving of a petition on the president of the SCA for leave to appeal his sentence, and any subsequent appeal if his petition was successful.
It was only if his petition or subsequent appeal failed that Yengeni would have to report to the Pollsmoor Prison, outside Cape Town, within 72 hours to start serving his sentence.
There was no deadline on applying for condonation of late filing of an application, said Snyman.
Such an application would be decided by two judges in chambers, he said.
The Pretoria Regional Court sentenced Yengeni in March 2003 to four years’ imprisonment — of which he would serve eight months — for defrauding Parliament over a discount he received on a 4×4 Mercedes-Benz from a bidder in the country’s multimillion-rand arms deal.
His appeal to the Pretoria High Court against the conviction and sentence was dismissed in November last year.
The court rejected his claim that he had been promised a sentence of less that 18 months under a plea bargain entered into with former prosecutions head Bulelani Ngcuka.
Judges Bertelsmann and Preller emphasised that Yengeni was a public official who had abused his position of trust for personal gain and held that he should have been given a more severe sentence.
Yengeni’s attorney Marius du Toit could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday.
However, it is understood his lawyers are preparing an application for condonation of late filing. – Sapa