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The magistrate sentenced the opposition to five years’ imprisonment, which his lawyers say will be appealed.
Published on 16 April 2026
South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to prison for firing a rifle in the air at a party rally.
Malema, leader of the far-left opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was sentenced to five years in prison by Magistrate Twenet Ollivier on Thursday.
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Malema, one of South Africa’s most prominent politicians, was convicted last year of charges including illegal possession of a firearm and discharging a weapon in a public place over a 2018 incident at a stadium in the Eastern Cape province.
The 45-year-old leader of the fourth-largest party in Parliament had pleaded not guilty, arguing that the gun was a toy.
Malema’s lawyers on Thursday applied for leave to appeal within minutes of the magistrate’s ruling being read at a court in the town of Kugompo, formerly east London.
Outside the court, hundreds of red-clad EFF supporters of Malema gathered for the sentencing hearing in the politically charged case.
The maximum sentence was 15 years in prison. If confirmed after all appeals, a prison sentence of more than 12 months would bar Malema from serving as a lawmaker.
It would be a major blow to the EFF, which enjoys strong support among young South Africans frustrated by racial inequality that has persisted since the end of white minority rule in 1994.
