Online Reporter
Leading South African opposition politician Julius Malema, 45, has been sentenced to five years after being found guilty of illegal possession of a firearm and firing it in public.
However, Magistrate Twanet Olivier allowed the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Member of Parliament to appeal against the sentence, meaning he was not immediately taken to prison.
Earlier, standing in court in a dark suit and red tie, Malema showed little emotion as Olivier read out the sentence, even though his political future was at stake.
Last year, he was convicted of five offences, including unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging a firearm in public and reckless endangerment.
During her sentencing ruling, Olivier said it “wasn’t … an impulsive act. It was the event of the evening,” according to the AFP news agency.
She added that while his political standing had no bearing on her findings, he was a person with a large following in South Africa and should be held accountable for his actions.
Addressing some of those supporters outside court, Malema made a series of unsubstantiated allegations against Olivier and said, without offering direct evidence, that the conviction and sentencing were the result of a conspiracy.
“They are trying by all means to silence this voice. They will never win,” AFP quoted him as saying. “We are fighting the enemy, and the enemy is white supremacy.”
Malema has a long reputation as an outspoken, charismatic and radical left-wing politician and has a loyal group of supporters. Hundreds had gathered to back Malema, chanting revolutionary songs. When news emerged that he would be allowed to appeal, they began calling out in Xhosa, “sigoduka naye”, which translates as “we are leaving with him today”.
Malema was once the leader of the youth wing of the governing African National Congress (ANC).
However, after being expelled from the party following a fallout with then president Jacob Zuma, he went on to form the EFF.
With Malema’s calls for the seizure of white-owned land and arguments that more should be done to transfer wealth to the black majority, the EFF steadily eroded the ANC’s share of the vote. It became the country’s fourth-largest party following the 2024 elections.
After being found guilty last October, Malema was quoted as telling those outside court that “going to prison or death is a badge of honour”.
“We cannot be scared of prison or of dying for the revolution. Whatever they want to do, they must know we will never retreat.”
He also vowed to challenge the judgment all the way to South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court.
Malema’s prosecution followed a case opened by Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, which has a contentious relationship with him and the EFF, after a video of the incident went viral. — BBC
