South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been convicted of breaching firearm laws over a 2018 rally incident where he was caught on video firing a rifle before cheering supporters.
The East London Magistrates Court gave the verdict Wednesday, ruling that Malema violated the Firearms Control Act. Magistrate Twanet Olivier dismissed his defense that the weapon was only a toy gun.
The case was on the heels of a viral video recorded at the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) five-year anniversary celebration in the Eastern Cape. Afriforum, an Afrikaner lobby group, pressed criminal charges after the footage spread widely.
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Malema’s former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, was accused of handing him the rifle but was acquitted. The EFF leader quickly denounced the outcome, calling the magistrate racist. “This proved the magistrate was racist, because Snyman is white,” Malema said.
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Speaking to supporters outside the courthouse, Malema vowed to challenge the ruling. He pledged to appeal “all the way to the Constitutional Court.”
The conviction could expose him to a maximum of 15 years in prison, though the absence of a minimum sentence leaves open the possibility of a lighter punishment. Sentencing is scheduled for January 23.
Malema, who founded the EFF, has built the party into South Africa’s fourth-largest political force. It captured 9% of the vote in last year’s general elections. His platform includes the seizure of white-owned farmland without compensation and the nationalization of mines and banks, policies that have made him one of the country’s most polarizing figures.
The firebrand politician also drew international attention this year when U.S. President Donald Trump played a video clip of him during a contentious meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Trump has repeatedly and falsely alleged that a “white genocide” is taking place in South Africa.
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