{"id":19152,"date":"2026-04-16T11:14:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=19152"},"modified":"2026-04-16T11:14:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T10:14:04","slug":"south-african-politician-julius-malema-sentenced-to-prison-for-firing-gun-courts-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=19152","title":{"rendered":"South African politician Julius Malema sentenced to prison for firing gun | Courts News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Magistrate hands the opposition figure five-year term, that his lawyers say will be appealed.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 16 Apr 2026<\/span>16 Apr 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to prison time for firing a rifle in \u2060the air at a party rally.<\/p>\n

Malema, the leader of the far-left opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was handed a five-year sentence on Thursday by Magistrate Twanet Olivier.<\/p>\n

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Malema, who is one of South Africa\u2019s most prominent politicians, was convicted last year of charges, including unlawful possession of a \u2060firearm and discharging a weapon in a public place over the 2018 incident at a stadium in the Eastern Cape province.<\/p>\n

The 45-year-old leader of the fourth-biggest party in parliament had pleaded not guilty, arguing the gun was a toy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t \u2026 an impulsive act,\u201d the magistrate said. \u201cIt was the event of the evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malema\u2019s defence said the shots were only intended to be celebratory.<\/p>\n

His lawyers applied for leave to appeal the magistrate\u2019s decision within \u2060minutes of it being \u2060read out in a court in KuGompo City, formerly East London, on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Outside the court, hundreds of Malema\u2019s red-clad EFF supporters gathered for the sentencing in the politically charged case.<\/p>\n

The EFF \u2013 a small but vocal party \u2013 says the case is an attempt to silence its outspoken leader, who is known for fiery speeches.<\/p>\n

Party supporters have threatened protests should their leader be jailed.<\/p>\n

The magistrate stressed it \u201cis not a political party who has been convicted here \u2026 it is a person, an individual.\u201d<\/p>\n

The maximum time was a 15-year prison sentence. If confirmed after all appeals, the five-year sentence would bar Malema from serving as a lawmaker.<\/p>\n

That would be a major setback to the EFF, which has strong support among young South Africans frustrated by the racial inequality that has persisted since the end of white minority rule in 1994.<\/p>\n

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An Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) supporter holds up a placard as supporters gather outside court ahead of South African opposition politician Julius Malema\u2019s appearance for sentencing after being convicted of charges including unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a weapon in public, in KuGompo City, South Africa, April 16, 2026. [Esa Alexander\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


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Magistrate hands the opposition figure five-year term, that his lawyers say will be appealed. Published On 16 Apr 202616 Apr 2026 South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to prison time for firing a rifle in \u2060the air at a party rally. Malema, the leader of the far-left opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19152\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}