A South African court has sentenced radical left-wing opposition leader Julius Malema to five years in prison on Thursday for firing an assault rifle at a rally eight years ago.
Twanet Olivier, the magistrate, read the sentence in an East London court in South Africa on Thursday, and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) displayed little emotion.
Malema’s attorney immediately filed an appeal in an attempt to prevent the 45-year-old from going to jail.
The allegations were related to an incident that occurred in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa in 2018 during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations.
Meanwhile a video clip at the time captured Julius Malema using a semi-automatic rifle to fire several shots into the air.
Julius Malema defended himself in court by claiming that the gun was not his and that he had fired the shots to agitate the crowd.
The magistrate however refused that argument during sentencing, saying “it wasn’t… an impulsive act. It was the event of the evening”.
“In respect of count 1 you are sentenced to a period of 5 years imprisonment, in respect of count two you are sentenced to a period of 2 years imprisonment”.
“In respect of count 3 you are sentenced to R20,000 or to undergo six months imprisonment,” Olivier ruled.
The court found Malema guilty in October last year on five charges, including reckless endangerment, discharging a handgun in public, and unauthorised possession of a firearm and ammunition.
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