South African opposition leader jailed for firing rifle into air at rally

NewsWorldAfricaSouth African opposition leader jailed for firing rifle into air at rallyIf the sentence is upheld, it will disqualify Julius Malema from serving as a politicianJohnnie Isaac Thursday 16 April 2026 10:57 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2958843","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/julius-malema-sentence-gun-rifle-b2958843.html","title":"South African opposition leader jailed for firing rifle into air at rally"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-5537","index":0}Julius Malema in court for the sentencing (Reuters)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Africa","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"}}South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been sent...