South African Opposition Leader Malema Found Guilty Of Unlawful Firearm Use

Julius Malema, the outspoken head of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has been convicted of firing a gun in public during a 2018 rally, an offence that could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

The charges stem from footage that surfaced showing Malema discharging multiple rounds into the air while addressing thousands of party supporters at a gathering in the Eastern Cape.

He stood trial alongside his former security aide, Adriaan Snyman, who was acquitted.

The conviction adds to Malema’s growing list of legal troubles. Just weeks earlier, he was found guilty of hate speech after years of sharp rhetoric against South Africa’s white minority. He has repeatedly demanded that land owned by white citizens be seized and redistributed to the black majority, arguing this is necessary to correct historic inequalities.

The court found him guilty on five separate counts, including possession of a firearm and ammunition without proper authority, firing it in a public area, and reckless endangerment. Prosecutors alleged he fired between 14 and 15 live rounds on stage before a crowd of 20,000.

Malema argued during the trial that the gun did not belong to him and that he had only fired the shots to excite his supporters.

After three days of deliberation, magistrate Twanet Olivier declared: “You are found guilty as charged.” Sentencing was delayed until January 2026.

Unmoved by the verdict, Malema told his followers outside the courthouse that “going to prison or death is a badge of honour”.

“We cannot be scared of prison [or] to die for the revolution. Whatever they want to do, they must know we will never retreat,” he added, vowing to appeal the ruling all the way to the Constitutional Court if necessary.

The case originated when Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum laid charges against him following the circulation of the video. AfriForum has long been at odds with Malema and was also behind a hate speech complaint that led to his conviction by South Africa’s equality court earlier this year.

In that case, the court condemned remarks Malema made after an alleged assault on an EFF member, when he declared: “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.” Judges ruled those words “demonstrated an intent to incite harm,” though the EFF argued they were misinterpreted.

Malema’s controversies have also drawn international attention. During a meeting at the White House in May, US President Donald Trump showed a video of Malema while arguing without evidence that South Africa’s white minority was facing genocide.

The following month, British authorities blocked Malema from entering the UK, citing his support for Hamas and inflammatory statements about white South Africans. Officials said his presence was “non-conducive to the public good.”