EFF President Julius Malema to spend 5 years in prison. Image: EFF
Julius Malema
1Min
South Africa
Malema sentenced to five years for firearm offence
EFF leader Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of unlawfully firing a weapon at a public event in 2018.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment following his conviction for discharging a firearm in a public area during a 2018 incident.
On Thursday, Magistrate Twanet Olivier handed down the sentence in the East London Magistrates Court, Eastern Cape.
He received five years’ imprisonment for count one and two years for count two, while counts three, four and five each carry a fine of R20,000 or six months’ imprisonment.
The ruling relates to contraventions of the Firearms Control Act, after the court found that Malema unlawfully fired a rifle at a political gathering in the Eastern Cape. The incident, which was widely circulated on social media at the time, drew significant public attention and raised concerns about firearm safety and accountability.
In handing down the sentence, Olivier emphasised the seriousness of discharging a firearm in a public space, noting the potential risk to bystanders and the need to uphold the law irrespective of an individual’s political standing.
Malema told the court in his defence that the shots were fired to celebrate and were not intended to cause any harm.
Advocate Laurance Hodes filed an application to appeal the sentence.
