Three years after being sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for fraud, former African National Congress (ANC) chief whip Tony Yengeni now looks likely to spend time in jail after the Supreme Court of Appeal yesterday refused his application for leave to appeal against his sentence.

The court gave no reasons for the ruling.

Yengeni was sentenced by the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court in March 2003 to four years in jail after pleading guilty to a charge of fraud for failing to disclose to Parliament a 47% discount he received on a luxury 4x4 Mercedes-Benz.

The discount was given to him by a representative of European Aeronautic Defence and Space, a partner in a joint venture that won the bid to supply missile and radar technology aboard four corvettes ordered by government in its arms acquisition process.

Yengeni was chairman of Parliament’s joint standing committee on defence.

He was acquitted of related corruption charges in terms of a plea agreement with the state.

While the ANC yesterday expressed sadness about the outcome of his application, the Democratic Alliance claimed Yengeni was a “relatively small fry” because other far more senior ANC figures were “involved in corruption surrounding the arms deal”.

Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille said the news that Yengeni was finally going to jail was a good first sign that the others responsible for arms deal corruption might join him.

Yengeni’s lawyer, Marius du Toit, said yesterday that Yengeni was “immensely disappointed”.

Du Toit said Yengeni had to report to Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town within 72 hours of the ruling to start serving his sentence.

He said Yengeni would be eligible for early release after serving eight months of his sentence.

When Yengeni was sentenced in 2003, he went to the Pretoria High Court to appeal against the conviction and sentence.

He claimed that former head of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka reneged on a deal to guarantee him a maximum R5000 fine in exchange for a guilty plea.

However, the high court dismissed his appeal against conviction and sentence in December last year and said an effective five-year sentence would have been more appropriate.

It also refused him leave to appeal.

With acknowledgements to Ernest Mabuza, Sapa and the Business Day.