JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Julius Malema, who heads South Africa’s opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party, received a five-year prison term Thursday following his conviction for violating gun laws when he discharged a rifle during a 2018 political gathering.
In October, Malema was found guilty on multiple charges including illegal firearm and ammunition possession, discharging a weapon in an urban area, and putting others at risk through reckless behavior.
The controversial political leader, who heads the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters organization, faced charges along with bodyguard Anton Snyman after footage of the shooting incident spread widely online. Snyman was acquitted of all charges.
When announcing the punishment, Magistrate Twanet Olivier explained she weighed the seriousness of his actions in deciding the sentence. “We hear daily, or weekly, of children playing in the front yards, in the street, who are caught in crossfire, random shots fired, killing people. It’s just the first time that we hear, it’s being called celebratory shots,” Olivier said.
Throughout the legal proceedings, Malema maintained that the accusations were driven by political motivations, noting they originated from Afriforum, an advocacy organization representing white Afrikaner interests that has clashed with Malema repeatedly over the years.
Olivier stated that both the conviction and punishment were determined exclusively by his conduct during the incident in question.
Malema leads the nation’s fourth-largest political party and remains a polarizing personality, largely due to his organization’s platform calling for seizing white-owned property without payment and government takeover of mining operations and financial institutions.
His profile gained international attention when former U.S. President Donald Trump displayed footage of him during a strained discussion with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, showing Malema performing a contentious anti-apartheid anthem that some view as promoting violence against Afrikaners.
