CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A controversial South African opposition leader who recently compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler received a five-year prison sentence Thursday for discharging a rifle during a 2018 political gathering.
Julius Malema, head of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters party, has sparked controversy across South Africa for years through inflammatory statements that critics say fuel racial divisions with anti-white language. His supporters view him as a champion for South Africa’s impoverished Black population.
The politician has drawn scrutiny from U.S. officials and was highlighted in footage shown during a tense Oval Office encounter last year between Trump and South Africa’s president.
In recent statements, Malema characterized Trump as an “Adolf Hitler of (the) modern day.”
Malema’s controversial history began during his time leading the African National Congress youth wing from 2008 to 2012. His behavior frequently frustrated party leadership, particularly when he started openly attacking then-President Jacob Zuma, despite previously declaring his loyalty. He once stated “we are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma.”
In 2010, he verbally attacked a BBC reporter, labeled him a British “agent,” and ejected him from a news conference, drawing condemnation from the ANC. Malema consistently portrays the United States and Britain as having “imperialist” and racist policies toward South Africa.
After numerous inflammatory statements and criticism of Botswana’s leadership as a puppet government, the ANC removed him from the party in 2012.
The following year, Malema established the Economic Freedom Fighters as a radical left-wing, anti-capitalist organization.
His new party advocates for dramatic reforms in South Africa, including seizing land owned by white citizens and redistributing it to Black South Africans who suffered under apartheid’s racial segregation system.
As “Commander in Chief” of the EFF, Malema’s rhetoric has been condemned for inflaming racial tensions in the diverse nation that achieved reconciliation after apartheid ended.
“We are not calling for the slaughter of white people — at least for now,” Malema declared in one of numerous speeches targeting South Africa’s white minority population.
He has also made derogatory comments about South Africans of Indian descent.
Malema attracted international attention by reviving the apartheid-era slogan “Kill the Boer,” chanting it at rallies both as ANC youth leader and with the EFF. The term “Boer” refers to white farmers, and white minority advocacy groups condemn the chant as hate speech.
Trump and his allies, including South African-born Elon Musk, have pointed to Malema’s party and the chant to support their unfounded assertions about systematic violence targeting white South African farmers.
Video footage featuring Malema and the EFF was displayed in the Oval Office during Trump’s confrontational meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, when Trump challenged Ramaphosa on the farmer issue.
The Trump administration’s claims that South Africa’s Black-majority government pursues anti-white policies has created a significant diplomatic rift between the nations.
Although Malema and fellow EFF members hold parliamentary seats, their party has never achieved national governing power and captured 10% of votes in the most recent 2024 national election. The EFF remains outside the coalition government.
Malema and his party have also targeted criticism at Ramaphosa and the ANC, resulting in multiple ejections from Parliament for disrupting sessions.
In 2023, Malema and other EFF legislators wearing their signature red work uniforms rushed the stage during a presidential address, resulting in physical confrontations with security personnel.
Malema’s firearm conviction in October came seven years after he discharged a rifle into the air at a political event.
An organization representing South Africa’s Afrikaner white minority filed legal action that ultimately forced prosecutors to pursue charges against Malema.
While sentenced to five years imprisonment Thursday, Malema filed an appeal and was released on bail pending the appeal process. Should the sentence stand, he would be barred from legislative service for five years following his prison term.
