Court sentences South African opposition leader, Julius Malema to five years in prison for firearm discharge
Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has been sentenced to five years in prison after a South African court found him guilty of illegally possessing and discharging a firearm in public.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday by Magistrate Twanet Olivier in a court in East London. Malema reportedly remained composed as the sentence was read.
His legal team moved quickly to file an appeal, aiming to prevent the 45-year-old opposition figure from serving time behind bars. The sentence could also have political consequences, potentially costing him his seat in parliament.
The charges relate to a 2018 incident during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebration in the Eastern Cape. Footage from the event showed Malema firing multiple shots from a semi-automatic rifle into the air.
In his defense, Malema argued that the firearm did not belong to him and claimed he discharged it to energize the crowd. However, the court dismissed this explanation, with the magistrate stating the act was deliberate and central to the event.
In addition to the five-year sentence for the primary charge, Malema received two years for a second count and was fined R20,000—failing which he would face an additional six months in prison—for a third offence.
Malema had been convicted in October on several charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, reckless endangerment, and discharging a weapon in a public space.
Following the earlier conviction, he addressed supporters outside the court, describing imprisonment or even death as a “badge of honour” in pursuit of political struggle. He has since pledged to challenge the ruling all the way to the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest judicial authority.
