Julius Malema, the firebrand leader of South Africa's radical left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison for unlawfully possessing and firing an assault rifle at a party rally in 2018. A magistrate in KuGompo — a city in the Eastern Cape province, formerly known as East London — handed down the sentence following Malema's conviction in October. He also received a concurrent two-year sentence for unlawful possession of ammunition. Malema was released shortly after the hearing, however, after being granted leave to appeal the sentence, though the court declined to overturn his underlying conviction.

The incident at the centre of the case occurred during the EFF's fifth birthday celebrations in Mdantsane in 2018, when Malema discharged an automatic rifle into the air. His defence argued the shots were intended as a celebratory gesture. The prosecution was brought by AfriForum, a small conservative civil society group that has long clashed with Malema, in part over his use at rallies of the anti-apartheid chant "Kill the Boer" — a reference to South Africa's white Afrikaner population. AfriForum has argued that the chant constitutes hate speech and incites violence against white South Africans, a claim the courts have rejected.

Hundreds of EFF supporters, dressed in the party's trademark red berets, gathered outside the court as the sentencing was delivered. Speaking to the crowd after his release, Malema accused magistrate Twanet Olivier of racism and alleged that an "invisible hand" controlled the proceedings, claiming she had not authored her own judgments. Olivier, for her part, was pointed in her response, stressing that it was "not a political party who has been convicted here — it is a person, an individual."

The EFF has framed the case as a politically motivated attempt to silence its outspoken leader. The party's deputy secretary, Leigh-Ann Mathys, said the EFF was confident a higher court would reach a different conclusion, and confirmed plans to appeal before the High Court. The outcome carries significant constitutional implications: under South African law, a confirmed prison sentence of 12 months or more would bar Malema from serving as a member of parliament. The EFF holds 39 seats in the national legislature following the 2024 general elections, in which the party won under 10 percent of the vote.