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| Julius Malema showed little emotion as he received news of the sentence(Image: Reuters) |
Leading South African opposition politician Julius Malema, 45, has been sentenced to five years after being found guilty of the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public.
However, the Economic Freedom Fighters' MP and leader were given permission by Magistrate Twanet Olivier to appeal the sentence, so he was not sent to prison right away. 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.
He was found guilty of five charges last year, including reckless endangerment, unlawful firearm possession, and public discharge.
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| Malema was able to leave court and greet his supporters as the appeal process has now begun(Image:Reuters) |
Malema would be disqualified from serving as an MP for five years if his sentence is upheld. However, the BBC was informed by political analyst Sandile Swana that the appeals procedure was likely to take several years, allowing the EFF leader to continue his political career. The charges stem from a 2018 incident in which a video of Malema firing a semi-automatic rifle into the air during the fifth anniversary celebrations of his party that were held in the country's Eastern Cape province emerged. Malema told the court during the trial in KuGompo City, the new name for East London, that he had fired the shots to celebrate.
However, Olivier stated during her sentence that "it wasn't... an impulsive act." According to the AFP news agency, it was the main event of the evening. She went on to say that although his political standing had no effect on her findings, he was a popular figure in South Africa and ought to be held accountable for his actions. Outside of the court, he addressed some of those supporters and made a number of unproven claims against Olivier. He also claimed, without providing any specific evidence, that the conviction and sentence were the result of a conspiracy. "They are trying by all means to silence this voice. They will never win," AFP quotes him as saying. "White supremacy is the enemy, and we are fighting the enemy." Malema has a long reputation as being an outspoken, charismatic and radical left-wing politician and has a loyal band of supporters.
Chants and revolutionary songs had been chanted by hundreds to support Malema. They started yelling "sigoduka naye," which means "we are leaving with him today," in the Xhosa language when they heard that he would be allowed to appeal. Among the crowd of Malema supporters is a man wearing a red EFF T-shirt. He can be seen chanting and holding his hands out to clap.
To show their support for Malema, the party supporters have been out in force. Malema was once the leader of the youth wing of the governing African National Congress. However, following a disagreement with then-President Jacob Zuma, he was kicked out of the party and founded the EFF. The EFF ate away at the ANC's share of the vote 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. It became the country's fourth largest party at the 2024 elections.
After being found guilty last October, Malema was quoted as telling those outside the court that "going to prison or death is a badge of honour".
"We cannot be scared of prison [or] to die for the revolution. They need to be aware that we will never back down, no matter what they do." Additionally, he pledged to challenge the verdict before the Constitutional Court, South Africa's highest court. Malema's prosecution came when Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, which has a contentious relationship with him and the EFF, opened a case against Malema after the video went viral.
AfriForum also had a role in another conviction against the politician.
Last August, he was found guilty of hate speech by the equality court, following remarks he made at a rally in 2022.
After an incident where a white man allegedly assaulted an EFF member, Malema said: "No white man is going to beat me up... you must never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that at some point there must be killing."
The EFF claimed that these remarks were taken out of context, despite the equality court ruling that they "demonstrated an intent to incite harm." At his political rallies, Malema has also been criticized for singing a song with the lyrics "shoot the Boer (Afrikaner); shoot the farmer." This was brought up by US President Donald Trump in a heated White House meeting with South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in May. The song has been objected to by Afrikaner lobby groups, but the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa has ruled that a "reasonably well-informed person" would understand that the song, which was written during the struggle against white minority rule, was not meant to be taken literally and was not hate speech.
Source: BBC
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