South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been found guilty Wednesday, October 1st, of violating firearm laws in connection with a 2018 incident where he was filmed firing a rifle at a political rally.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader was convicted of contravening the Firearms Control Act after a video of him discharging the weapon during his party’s five-year anniversary celebration in the Eastern Cape went viral. His former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who was accused of handing him the firearm, was acquitted—a decision Malema labelled racist, pointing to Snyman’s race as evidence of bias in the magistrate’s ruling.
Magistrate Twanet Olivier dismissed Malema’s claim that the firearm was merely a toy gun. Outside the East London Magistrates Court, a defiant Malema told his supporters that he would appeal the verdict “all the way to the Constitutional Court.” Although he faces a possible prison sentence of up to 15 years, the absence of a minimum sentence could result in a more lenient penalty. His sentencing has been scheduled for 23 January next year.
Malema, who founded the EFF—South Africa’s fourth-largest political party with 9% of the vote in last year’s general elections—remains a polarising figure. His radical policies, including the expropriation of white-owned land without compensation and the nationalisation of key industries, continue to divide public opinion. His political prominence has even drawn international attention, including from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who highlighted him in a video during a contentious meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, repeating false claims of a “white genocide” in South Africa.