Julius Malema: South African Opposition Figure Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
- South African opposition politician Julius Malema faces five years in prison for firing a semi-automatic rifle at a rally
- Malema plans to appeal his sentencing for gun crimes and take it to South Africa's highest court
- The legislator's sentencing could disqualify him from being an MP and reshape South African politics
Julius Malema, a South African opposition politician, has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public.
Malema's lawyer said he would appeal the decision to prevent the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters from being taken to prison.
Source: Getty Images
BBC reported that Malema showed little emotion as the magistrate read out the sentence.
In 2025, he was convicted of five offences, including the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging it in a public space and reckless endangerment.
The state was seeking the maximum 15-year jail term for Malema, who was found guilty in October 2024 of violating firearm laws.
The charges related to an incident in 2018 when a video emerged showing Malema using a semi-automatic rifle to fire several shots in the air during his party's fifth anniversary celebrations held in the country's Eastern Cape province.
In his defence, Malema told the court the firearm was not his and that he had fired the shots to rouse the crowd, South African news site SowetanLIVE reported at the time.
After being found guilty last October, Malema told his supporters outside the court in East London that "going to prison or death is a badge of honour".
He also vowed to challenge the judgment up to South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court. The length of Malema's sentence could see him being disqualified as an MP.
Mavis Hawa Koomson shooting incident
For Ghanaians, this incident will evoke a similar situation involving the then-Member of Parliament for the Awutu Senya East constituency, Mavis Hawa Koomson.
Koomson fired a gun at a voter registration centre in her constituency in July 2020.
Reports indicate there was a confrontation at a registration centre, which saw properties burned.
Source: Facebook
Koomson did not face any sanctions or prosecution for her actions. She later said she regretted the shooting. She was, however, picked up by the Ghana police for questioning.
“I wish it never happened in our political history,” the former Special Development Initiative Minister said on February 18, 2021.
She said her action was meant to scare people off when she realised that her people’s lives were in danger.
Mahama defends South African president
YEN.com.gh reported that President John Mahama previously criticised US President Trump over false claims of a genocide of white people in South Africa as well as land seizures. Mahama held that such comments were an insult to Africans
In an editorial in The Guardian, Mahama also said Trump’s 2025 ambushing of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over claims of racial persecution was unfounded and insulting.
Source: YEN.com.gh
