South African opposition politician, Julius Malema, has been sentenced to five years in prison after a court found him guilty of illegally possessing a firearm and discharging it in public.
Malema’s lawyer said an appeal would be filed immediately in a bid to stop the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader from being taken into custody. The sentence could also affect his position in parliament, as it may lead to his disqualification as an MP.
Malema remained composed in court, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, as the magistrate delivered the ruling.
The conviction follows a case from last year, when he was found guilty on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, firing a weapon in a public space, and reckless endangerment.
The charges stem from a 2018 incident in which a video showed Malema firing multiple shots into the air with a semi-automatic rifle during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebration in the Eastern Cape.
In his defence, Malema told the court the firearm did not belong to him and said he fired the shots to energise the crowd, according to SowetanLIVE.
Following the guilty verdict in October, Malema addressed supporters outside the court in East London, stating that “going to prison or death is a badge of honour”.
“We cannot be scared of prison [or] to die for the revolution. Whatever they want to do, they must know we will never retreat.”
He also pledged to challenge the ruling up to South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court.
The case was initiated by Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, which has had a long-standing dispute with Malema and the EFF, after the video of the incident circulated widely online.
(BBC)
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