Malema granted leave to appeal conviction and five-year sentence in firearm case - IOL
Julius Malema has been granted leave to appeal both his conviction and effective five-year prison sentence in the firearm case stemming from the 2018 EFF rally in Mdantsane.
Image: Zwelethemba Kostile / ParliamentofRSA.
EFF leader Julius Malema has been granted leave to appeal both his conviction and effective five-year prison sentence in the firearm case stemming from the firing of a rifle at an EFF rally in Mdantsane in 2018.
Malema was previously granted leave to appeal his sentence, but not his conviction.
In April, Magistrate Twanet Olivier sentenced Malema to an effective five years in prison after finding him guilty on five firearm-related charges.
At the time, Olivier granted him leave to appeal the sentence but refused his application to appeal the conviction, saying the court stood by its decision to convict him.
Malema subsequently approached the High Court seeking leave to challenge his conviction, with the State opposing the application.
The case relates to the EFF's fifth-anniversary celebrations at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane in July 2018, where Malema was filmed firing a rifle into the air.
He was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful discharge of a firearm, failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to a person or property, and reckless endangerment.
Malema had maintained that the firearm was a toy or prop and had denied the charges.
The trial court rejected his version. His former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who was charged alongside him, was acquitted.
The trial itself was lengthy, beginning in 2022 after Malema first appeared in court in 2021. The court heard evidence over 31 days before the conviction was handed down in October 2025.
Olivier sentenced Malema to five years for unlawful possession of a firearm and two years for unlawful possession of ammunition.
He was also sentenced to six months' imprisonment, with the option of a R20,000 fine, on each of the remaining three charges.
The sentences run concurrently, leaving Malema with an effective five-year prison term. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Malema remains out of prison while the appeal process continues.
The latest High Court ruling means he can now challenge the conviction as well as the sentence.
The appeal process is also relevant to Malema's position as a member of Parliament.
A prison sentence of more than 12 months without the option of a fine can disqualify a person from serving in the National Assembly, although that consequence only becomes relevant once the applicable appeal processes have been exhausted.
