South African politician jailed for firing gun at rally

Julius Malema has filed an appeal against the sentence and accused the magistrate of being racist

South African opposition figure Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison for firing a rifle at a party rally nearly a decade ago, in a ruling that could cost him his seat in Parliament if upheld on appeal.

Malema, leader of the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was convicted last year on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging it in public and reckless endangerment. The charges stemmed from video showing him firing the weapon before supporters at the party’s fifth-anniversary rally in Mdantsane, in Eastern Cape province, in 2018.

Prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence. In Thursday’s ruling at the East London Regional Court in KuGompo City, Eastern Cape, the court rejected defense arguments that the shooting was merely celebratory.

“It is clear that if crimes are allowed to go unchecked and unpunished, it poses a serious threat to our democratic state,” Magistrate Twanet Olivier said before delivering the sentence, according to Reuters.

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The court sentenced Malema to five years in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm and two years for unlawful possession of ammunition. On the remaining three counts, he was given the option of paying R20,000 in fines or serving six months in prison. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

He was, however, granted leave to appeal and remains free pending the outcome. If the sentence stands, South African law would bar him from serving as a lawmaker because he received a prison term of more than 12 months without the option of a fine.

Following the ruling, Malema accused Magistrate Olivier of being “racist” and “possibly a member of AfriForum,” the Afrikaner lobby group that brought the case.

“We can tell you now, no sober judge will ever agree that a person shoot one bullet and then he’s sentenced for five years,” he told supporters outside court.

“They are trying by all means to silence this voice. They will never win,” he said, adding that “we are fighting the enemy and the enemy is white supremacy.”

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Malema has long been one of South Africa’s most outspoken and controversial politicians, and its most-followed political figure. His use of the apartheid-era chant “Kill the Boer” and criticism of Western governments have repeatedly drawn legal and diplomatic backlash at home and abroad.

He founded the EFF in 2013 after being expelled from the African National Congress, the country’s longtime governing party, where he led its youth wing.