Trending 
South African politician Julius Malema has been found guilty of discharging a firearm in public seven years ago — an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
A video from 2018 showed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader firing multiple shots into the air during his party’s fifth-anniversary celebrations in the Eastern Cape province.
Malema was tried alongside his former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who was acquitted. The firebrand politician, who was convicted of hate speech less than two months ago, is known for his frequent criticism of South Africa’s white minority and his calls for land expropriation and wealth redistribution to the black majority.
The court convicted Malema on five charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a weapon in a public space, and reckless endangerment. The most serious charge alone carries a potential 15-year sentence.
Prosecutors said Malema fired between 14 and 15 live rounds on stage before 20,000 EFF supporters, according to South African news outlet SowetanLIVE.
In his defence, Malema claimed the firearm was not his and that he discharged it merely to energise the crowd.
After a three-day deliberation, magistrate Twanet Olivier declared: “You are found guilty as charged.” The court adjourned the case until January 2026 for pre-sentencing proceedings.
Malema’s prosecution followed a complaint lodged by Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum after the video surfaced online. The group, which has a history of clashes with Malema and the EFF, was also among those who filed a hate speech complaint against him with South Africa’s Human Rights Commission — leading to his conviction by the equality court in August.
In that case, Malema sparked outrage after responding to an alleged assault on an EFF member by a white man, saying: “No white man is going to beat me up… you must never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that at some point there must be killing.”
The equality court ruled that his comments “demonstrated an intent to incite harm,” though the EFF insisted they were taken out of context.
