South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been found guilty of discharging a firearm in public, following a seven-year legal battle stemming from a 2018 incident.
A video released at the time showed the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader firing multiple live rounds into the air during his party’s fifth-anniversary rally in the Eastern Cape, attended by an estimated 20,000 supporters. Malema’s former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, faced the same charges but was acquitted.
Magistrate Twanet Olivier delivered the verdict after a three-day hearing, declaring: “You are found guilty as charged.” The case has been postponed to January 2026 for pre-sentencing. If handed the maximum penalty, Malema could face up to 15 years in prison.
The charges included unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a public space, and reckless endangerment. In his defense, Malema argued the weapon was not his and that the shots were meant to excite the crowd.
This marks Malema’s second conviction in less than two months. In August, South Africa’s Equality Court found him guilty of hate speech following remarks widely condemned as incitement to violence.
The cases were driven in part by AfriForum, an Afrikaner lobby group that has long clashed with Malema and the EFF. AfriForum filed the initial firearm complaint after the viral video and was also among those who lodged the hate speech complaint.
Malema, known for his fiery rhetoric, remains a polarizing figure in South African politics. His supporters see him as a champion of economic justice, while critics argue his statements fuel racial tensions in a country still grappling with deep inequalities three decades after the end of apartheid.
