South Africa’s ‘Julius Malema’ Found Guilty of Firing Gun at EFF Rally

South African opposition leader Julius Malema has been found guilty of unlawfully discharging a firearm in public during his party’s fifth anniversary celebrations in 2018  an offence that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was captured on video firing multiple rounds into the air at an event in the Eastern Cape, attended by around 20,000 supporters. He was charged alongside his former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who was later acquitted.

After three days of deliberation, Magistrate Twanet Olivier declared: “You are found guilty as charged.” Malema was convicted on five counts, including the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a weapon in public, and reckless endangerment.

The case has been postponed to January 2026 for pre-sentencing.

Malema denied ownership of the firearm and told the court he fired the shots merely to energize the crowd. However, prosecutors argued he had recklessly endangered lives by firing between 14 and 15 live rounds in a public space.

His prosecution followed a complaint filed by AfriForum, an Afrikaner lobby group with a long-standing clash with Malema and the EFF.

This ruling comes less than two months after Malema was convicted of hate speech by South Africa’s Equality Court, following remarks in which he suggested that “a revolution demands that at some point there must be killing.” The court found his statements demonstrated an intent to incite harm, though the EFF insisted his comments were taken out of context.

Malema remains one of South Africa’s most controversial politicians. He has called for the seizure of white-owned land and greater redistribution of wealth to the black majority. His fiery rhetoric continues to resonate with his supporters but fuels sharp divisions in a country still grappling with deep racial inequalities 31 years after the end of apartheid.