S-Africa opposition leader, Malema jailed 5 years over firearm charge
By Henry Ojelu, with agency report
South Africa’s firebrand opposition leader, Julius Malema, has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after a court found him guilty of illegal possession and public discharge of a firearm.
The 45-year-old leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and serving Member of Parliament, however, will however not head to prison immediately, as Magistrate Twanet Olivier granted him leave to appeal the sentence.
Malema, clad in a dark suit and red tie, remained composed as the sentence was delivered, despite the implications for his political future.
He had earlier been convicted on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging a weapon in public, and reckless endangerment.
The charges stem from a 2018 incident during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in Eastern Cape, where Malema was captured in a viral video firing a semi-automatic rifle into the air.
During trial proceedings in KuGompo City, he maintained that the act was celebratory.
But in her ruling, Olivier dismissed the defence, stating that the act was not impulsive but premeditated, describing it as “the event of the evening.”
She stressed that Malema’s political stature did not influence the court’s decision, but noted that as a public figure with a large following, he bore greater responsibility for his conduct.
Despite the conviction, Malema walked free from court, greeting hundreds of chanting supporters, as the appeal process commenced.
Addressing supporters outside the court, Malema alleged, without evidence, that the ruling was politically motivated, accusing unnamed forces of attempting to silence him.
“They are trying by all means to silence this voice. They will never win,” he declared, adding, “We are fighting the enemy, and the enemy is white supremacy.”
The outspoken politician, known for his radical rhetoric and populist appeal, commands a loyal support base. His followers, many clad in EFF regalia, broke into revolutionary songs and chants after learning he would not be taken into custody immediately.
Malema, a former youth leader of the African National Congress (ANC), was expelled following a fallout with then President Jacob Zuma. He subsequently founded the EFF, which has grown into a formidable opposition force, emerging as the fourth largest party in the 2024 general elections.
His political messaging—centred on land expropriation and economic redress for South Africa’s black majority—has eroded the ANC’s traditional support base.
Reacting to the sentencing, ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula suggested that Malema’s prosecution reflected broader political targeting, particularly by Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, which initiated the case following the circulation of the video.
However, AfriForum insisted the matter was strictly about law enforcement, maintaining that it opposes all forms of racism and that the case centred on “reckless and illegal actions.”
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