South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison for illegal possession of a firearm. Magistrate Twanet Olivier handed down the sentence on April 16, 2026, at the East London Regional Court in KuGompo City.
The case dates back to July 2018, when Malema fired a rifle in the air during his party's fifth anniversary celebration at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane. A video of the incident circulated widely online.The court convicted Malema on five charges. The main counts were unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Magistrate Olivier said the shooting was planned, not a spontaneous act. She described it as a planned feature of the event where Malema would take possession of a semi-automatic rifle and fire it into the air in a built-up area. She rejected arguments that it was a harmless celebration, calling such characterisation sugarcoating.The court heard that the state pushed for a custodial sentence, describing the incident as calculated and executed to entertain a crowd. Prosecutors said the firearm was discharged in a densely populated residential area, releasing lethal energy with a foreseeable risk of mass injury. No injuries were reported.
Malema will not go to prison immediately. The magistrate granted him leave to appeal the sentence, meaning he remains free while the appeal is heard. However, his request to appeal the conviction itself was denied.Legal experts say the appeals process could take several years.If the sentence is upheld, Malema would be disqualified from serving as a member of parliament for five years.South African law bars anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in prison from holding parliamentary office.
The case was initially opened by AfriForum, a conservative lobby group that has a long-running dispute with Malema.The trial stretched over more than seven years, with the court hearing evidence across 31 days.Malema first appeared in court in August 2021, but proceedings did not begin until March 2022.The court dismissed a defence application to have the charges withdrawn in October 2023.
Outside the court, Malema addressed hundreds of supporters who had gathered to back him. He said the sentence was biased and driven by racial prejudice. He accused the magistrate of failing to apply the law properly. He also said authorities were trying to silence his voice but would not succeed.The EFF described the sentence as a travesty of justice and said it was politically motivated.
The Democratic Alliance, the country's official opposition party, welcomed the sentence. Party leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said gun violence is out of control in South Africa and any crime involving illegal gunfire must be punished harshly.The EFF won just under 10% of the vote in the 2024 general election and holds 39 seats in parliament.
Malema, 45, was once the leader of the African National Congress youth wing. He was expelled from the ANC following a falling-out with then-president Jacob Zuma and went on to form the EFF in 2013.The party campaigns on a platform of land expropriation and economic redistribution. It has steadily eroded the ANC's share of the vote over successive elections.
The magistrate ordered that the two-year sentence for illegal ammunition possession run at the same time as the five-year term for the firearm offence. Fines of R20,000 each for discharging a firearm in public, failing to take precautions and reckless endangerment will also run concurrently. The fines carry an alternative of six months in prison each if unpaid. Malema was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Police increased their presence around the court during the proceedings. A helicopter hovered overhead as supporters picketed outside. Party officials had to intervene to keep tensions from escalating.