For a revolutionary, going to prison is a badge of honour, EFF leader Julius Malema said after being found guilty on firearm charges.
These include unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a built-up area, reckless endangerment of people and property, and failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to people or property.T
he judgment was handed down on Wednesday by East London regional magistrate Twanet Olivier after a gruelling two and a half days of summary.
The ruling casts a shadow over the future of the EFF, because if the sentence of Malema — who is due back in court in January 2026 for pre-sentence proceedings — is for more than six months in prison, he faces being excluded from parliament.
Criminal law expert Dr Llewelyn Curlewis, of the faculty of law at the University of Pretoria, said Malema could be expelled from parliament depending on the sentencing he received.
“He might not be eligible to continue to stand as a parliamentarian because there is a requirement that if you have a previous conviction of direct imprisonment, which is six months or longer, then you are not eligible.
“It depends on the sentence as well. It is not a clear-cut matter at this stage,” he said.
Political analyst Dr Christopher Allsobrook said the conviction might serve as a political asset due to the EFF’s platform being built on a critique of the state as “illegitimate and captured”.
“Malema will frame this legal outcome as political persecution — from racist/white supremacists at home and abroad, and from his panicked rivals in the ANC ...
“For his core constituency, this reinforces his story that he is a threat to a corrupt order, and the judiciary is a tool of that order.
“Malema’s authority will be consolidated as a martyr. But in parliament, if he is a convicted criminal, he must step down.
“A custodial sentence would force a succession crisis within the EFF and remove its most effective political actor.”
AfriForum opened the case in 2018 after a viral video showed Malema firing a rifle during the party’s birthday celebrations at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane.
Malema’s co-accused, bodyguard Adriaan Snyman, was acquitted of failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to people or property, and providing a firearm or ammunition to someone without a licence.
Malema vehemently disputed firing a rifle, maintaining that it was a toy gun.
The person who captured the viral video was never found, so never testified in the trial.
Criminal law expert Prof Oscar Magedze said Malema might not get a prison sentence.“He may receive a fine or a suspended sentence.
“This is not something for which you expect he would go to prison ... you must deal with aggravating issues and mitigating factors.”
Malema said after the judgment: “They are looking for me, and that’s why they couldn’t collapse the case, for racist reasons to appease AfriForum, to appease the Oval Office of Donald Trump, to appease all the white supremacists of SA who want to undermine the dignity and the struggle of black people.“We know from the beginning they have been looking for me.
They were not looking for [Snyman], they were just playing games and today they came out openly.
“We must not be deterred. We must live here, determined to fight this all the way to the Constitutional Court.
“The strategy has always been to try to charge Malema with everything, and one day maybe we will find a racist judge who will find him guilty.”
If Snyman was innocent, that meant Snyman did not give him the firearm. That should have collapsed the case, Malema said.
He said he would reinforce his legal team to include advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC to join advocate Laurence Hodes SC to “confront the system”.
“We are not fighting the case, we are fighting the racism we have been subjected to for seven years.”Malema said he “appreciated” Snyman’s acquittal.
The state called 19 witnesses. After the prosecution closed its case, Malema and Snyman applied for a discharge, but Olivier dismissed the application.
Two expert witnesses in firearms control and forensic ballistics testified on Snyman’s behalf. Malema took the stand in his defence.
In her judgment, Olivier said the viral video was not needed to enable the court to arrive at its finding.
The defence also used the footage to indicate certain factors they wanted to be placed on record. This was accepted by the court as real evidence.
Two videos recorded by Gearhouse, the company that supplied the staging equipment, were part of the evidence.
Olivier said the Gearhouse footage was not as clear as the viral video, but ruled it relevant and admissible.
She described the state witnesses as reliable and truthful.Ballistics expert Col Mandisi Mgwadleka was “a brilliant witness” who had left no stone unturned.
“He dotted every i and crossed every t.”
Compared with this, the defence’s expert ballistic evidence was “mediocre”.
Olivier quoted Malema’s evidence that Larry Mavundla, to whom the court heard the firearm had been issued, should have been charged.
“Charged for what? Handing you the toy firearm or [the firearm in question]?
"The answer is nonsensical as to why Larry Mavundla should have been charged.
“Mr Malema evaded many questions that warranted a reply.
“It became evident that the replies were entertaining, but the pertinent questions asked remained unanswered ...
“Further, as to how the cartridge ... was linked to him, his reply was it must’ve been the Holy Spirit. “These types of answers didn’t do [Malema] any favours.
“The inference sought is supported by all the facts contained as per the evidence presented in court, and therefore, [Malema], you are found guilty as charged, and [Snyman], you are found not guilty and discharged.”
NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said they were content with the verdict.
“This case has always been about the fact that we uphold the rule of law so people don’t seem to be above the law ... we still have a hurdle to get through which is ensuring we argue a sentence appropriate for the crime.”
Political analyst Dr Xolisile Ngumbela said Malema’s conviction was an injustice that would deal a heavy blow to the EFF’s ambitions in the 2026 local government elections.
“His push for land reform and his nationalisation stance is the reason he is being punished.
“This will affect him both personally and politically, especially if he fails in the appeal.”
AfriForum spokesperson for community safety Jacques Broodryk said the judgment was “absolutely necessary to restore the public trust in the criminal justice system”.
Freedom Front Plus leader Corne Mulder said Malema deserved the “harshest punishment”.
DA MP Ian Cameron said: “This case is not simply about Malema’s conduct, but also about the culture of chaos, violence and criminality that the leader of the EFF embodies and promotes.”
Daily Dispatch
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