Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm and discharging it in public. However,...

Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm and discharging it in public. However, Magistrate Twanet Olivier granted the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader permission to appeal, meaning he will not be taken into custody while the legal process continues. Delivering her ruling, Olivier stressed that Malema’s actions were not impulsive but part of a deliberate sequence of events. She added that although his political position did not influence the court’s decision, his prominence and large following meant he should be held accountable for his conduct. Malema, 45, showed little visible reaction in court as the sentence was read out. But outside, he struck a defiant tone,...