Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, claims his recent sentencing for unlawful firearm discharge is politically motivated, alleging external influences on the judiciary as he prepares to appeal the verdict.
Image: Abongile Ginya
Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, claims his recent sentencing for unlawful firearm discharge is politically motivated, alleging external influences on the judiciary as he prepares to appeal the verdict.
He said this was part of a broader and orchestrated campaign to disrupt his political career and stifle the EFF’s influence ahead of the 2026 local government elections, IOL reported.
Malema was addressing his supporters outside the East London Magistrate’s Court following his sentencing for the unlawful discharge of a firearm during a 2018 rally.
Malema was sentenced to five years of direct imprisonment on Thursday. However, he was released on warning following his immediate appeal against the sentence.
This was after he was found guilty in September last year on five charges under the Firearms Control Act, including discharging a firearm in a built-up or public area without sufficient reason, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Addressing the crowds, Malema claimed that a “hidden hand” of imperialism and capital is behind legal attempts to silence him.
He accused Magistrate Twanet Olivier of being a “racist of note”, adding that she was acting under external influence.
“Magistrate Olivier is a racist of note, and she must know that in her sleep,” he said.
“She did not read the heads of argument. She entered the court without knowing what was contained in the arguments that the lawyers were putting before the court,” Malema said, adding that Olivier speaks politics instead of reading.
“We are dealing with someone who doesn’t apply the law. The law, whether you hate someone or not, you have to answer the question: What does the law say on the matter?”
He added that no reasonable judge would agree that a person who shoots one bullet should be sentenced to five years, adding that the sentence was politically motivated and disproportionate.
He said the case was an attempt by his opponents to defeat him and the EFF through the legal system rather than at the ballot box.
Malema added that the party will petition the high court to appeal the guilty verdict and the sentencing itself.
During the EFF's fifth-anniversary celebrations at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape, a video emerged of Malema firing what appeared to be an assault rifle into the air in front of approximately 20,000 supporters.
The rifle used belonged to a security company linked to his former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman.
The incident went viral, prompting the Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum to open a criminal case against Malema.
He consistently argued that the weapon was a toy or prop, not a real firearm capable of firing live ammunition.
Snyman, accused of providing the weapon, was acquitted due to a lack of evidence.
The MK Party also supported Malema’s remarks, saying the courts are being used as weapons to serve political agendas against those fighting the system, adding that the law is not applied equally in this country.
“We have an even worse situation, where a President is found with monies that he never disclosed in a couch, but he is still walking,” said spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela.
He said the current system has been politicised and weaponised against the defiance of the system.
He said this also happened when former President Jacob Zuma was arrested in 2021.
This was after he was found guilty of defying a Constitutional Court order compelling him to appear before the commission chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
“It’s unfortunate and rather not surprising that they will come to the conclusion of this outcome and sentence him (Malema), and we know it is politicised,” Ndhlela said, questioning why the owner of the firearm is not convicted.
Meanwhile, AfriForum and the DA said the sentence also sends a clear message that in South Africa nobody is above the law.