KuGompo City, South Africa – Economic Freedom Fighters president Julius Malema partially succeeded in his appeal after a magistrate upheld his conviction but granted him the right to challenge his five-year prison sentence before a higher court.
The ruling was handed down on Thursday, 16 April 2026, by Magistrate Twanet Olivier at the East London Regional Court in KuGompo City in the Eastern Cape.
Olivier had previously found Malema guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful discharge of a firearm, failure to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to a person or property, and reckless endangerment to a person or property.
She sentenced him to five years in prison for the first offence, two years for the second count, and ordered him to pay a R20 000 fine or serve six months in prison for the remaining three charges. All other counts were ordered to run concurrently with the five-year sentence. Malema was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Malema immediately filed an appeal against both his conviction and sentence after the sentencing.
When delivering her ruling on the appeal, Olivier made clear that she was not moving from her position on the conviction itself. “This court abides by its decision as stated on record. This court has not had a change of heart and clearly stands firm on its decision to convict,” she said.
However, she agreed to grant the appeal against the five-year sentence, acknowledging that another court could arrive at a different conclusion on the matter. “This court does not have any intention to stand in the way of such a possibility,” Olivier said.
Malema will remain out on a warning until the full appeal process runs its course.
The conviction stems from a video that went viral in July 2018, which showed Malema firing what appeared to be a rifle during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane. He was found guilty in October last year on all five charges.
Although Malema first appeared in court in August 2021, the case suffered repeated delays and the trial only formally began in March 2022. Olivier noted that the court heard evidence over 31 days spread across more than seven years. A bid by the defence to have the charges withdrawn through a Section 174 application was dismissed in October 2023.
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