Justice of the Peace palms the opposition determine five-year time period, that his legal professionals say can be appealed.
Printed On 16 Apr 2026
South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to jail time for firing a rifle in the air at a celebration rally.
Malema, the chief of the far-left opposition Financial Freedom Fighters (EFF), was handed a five-year sentence on Thursday by Justice of the Peace Twanet Olivier.
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Malema, who’s considered one of South Africa’s most distinguished politicians, was convicted final yr of fees, together with illegal possession of a firearm and discharging a weapon in a public place over the 2018 incident at a stadium within the Japanese Cape province.
The 45-year-old chief of the fourth-biggest get together in parliament had pleaded not responsible, arguing the gun was a toy.
“It wasn’t … an impulsive act,” the Justice of the Peace mentioned. “It was the occasion of the night.”
Malema’s defence mentioned the pictures had been solely supposed to be celebratory.
His legal professionals utilized for go away to attraction the Justice of the Peace’s resolution inside minutes of it being learn out in a court docket in KuGompo Metropolis, previously East London, on Thursday.
Exterior the court docket, tons of of Malema’s red-clad EFF supporters gathered for the sentencing within the politically charged case.
The EFF – a small however vocal get together – says the case is an try to silence its outspoken chief, who is thought for fiery speeches.
Social gathering supporters have threatened protests ought to their chief be jailed.
The Justice of the Peace harassed it “will not be a political get together who has been convicted right here … it’s a particular person, a person.”
The utmost time was a 15-year jail sentence. If confirmed in spite of everything appeals, the five-year sentence would bar Malema from serving as a lawmaker.
That will be a serious setback to the EFF, which has robust help amongst younger South Africans pissed off by the racial inequality that has continued because the finish of white minority rule in 1994.
