A Magistrate’s Court in KuGompo City in the Eastern Cape has sentenced EFF leader Julius Malema to a total of five years’ imprisonment in his firearm case.
It relates to an incident in which he discharged a firearm during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in Mdantsane in 2018.
On Wednesday, during arguments on mitigation and aggravation of the sentence, the state sought a prison sentence, while the defence preferred a non-custodial sentence.
Malema had been convicted for discharging a firearm in public.
State prosecutor Advocate Joel Ceasar says Malema has shown no remorse for endangering people’s lives.
Meanwhile, the EFF has indicated that it will appeal the court’s decision.
“We are going to appeal there and there that she must extend bail. We hope that she’s going to be within the law and be reasonable because our lawyers, even yesterday, the legal team they presented a case that the president [Malema] is not a flight risk. The president has been cooperative with the courts since 2018. [He] has never missed a court date.”
“So everything that’s expected of a responsible leader and citizen … the president has complied with all that. The team is there… deputy president [Godrich Gardee] is leading that legal team, and we are confident that we will get the bail. The President today is going to sleep at home, that we know. Because the institutions of this country are still intact, and they will listen to us.”
He was convicted last year on multiple charges, including unlawful possession and discharging a firearm in a public area.
The shooting incident was captured on video. It happened during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations at the Sisa Dukashe stadium in Mdantsane in July 2018.
Malema has vowed to head to the highest court in the land to contest his sentence.
“If they send me to prison, I will appeal immediately. I will have a team in Bhisho and a team in East London on the same day. Once she says so, whatever, yes, then we put in a leave to appeal. Once she rejects it, the Bhisho team will petition the High Court and then send us proof that they’ve already petitioned the High Court.”
The case against Malema was opened by lobby group AfriForum.
During the pre-sentencing hearing in January this year, the court heard the testimony of a social worker, who testified in mitigation, which included Malema’s political impact on society and as a sole provider to many people, including his family.
Despite the social worker’s testimony, the state reserves its position on the 15-year sentence, which Malema says he is more than ready to take on.
