South African politician Julius Malema given five-year jail term for gun offence

The South African leftwing politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison for firing a rifle in the air at a political rally in 2018.

Lawyers for the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, South Africa’s fourth largest political party, immediately sought leave to appeal. The magistrate is currently considering whether to grant this.

Malema was convicted last year on charges including unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a weapon in a public place, after an incident at the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in KuGompo City, then known as East London.

The magistrate, Twanet Oliver, said: “It wasn't … an impulsive act … It wasn’t anger. It was the event of the evening.”

Malema’s lawyers had argued the shots were intended just to be celebratory and that no one was harmed.

Any prison sentence longer than 12 months would bar Malema from being a member of parliament, although that would not go into effect until all appeals had been exhausted.

Dozens of redshirted EFF supporters watched proceedings outside the magistrates court in KuGompo City. Party officials said beforehand that the case was politically motivated and designed to silence Malema, the former leader of the African National Congress’s youth league.

State prosecutors had argued for a 15-year jail sentence. “The accused is a political leader with a huge following … young people emulate this kind of behaviour,” the prosecutor Joel Cesar said during the sentencing arguments on Wednesday. “He’s a member of parliament, a lawmaker, but he breaks the law.“

The case was brought by AfriForum, a conservative lobby group that claims to represent the interests of the Afrikaner minority. AfriForum had also criticised Malema for chanting “Kill The Boer” at rallies and brought a separate case accusing him of hate speech.

The constitutional court ruled in 2025 that the chant, which originated as an anti-apartheid song, was not hate speech and not meant to be taken literally.

Malema, 45, the son of a domestic worker, founded the EFF in 2013 after he was expelled from the ruling ANC for “sowing division”.

The EFF is known for its disruptive parliamentary protests and describes itself as anti-imperialist and inspired by Marxism. It secured 9.5% of the vote in national elections in 2024, down from 10.8% in 2019.

Reuters contributed to this report