By News SA Reporter :
- EFF leader Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment by the East London Magistrate at KuGompo in the Eastern Cape.
- But he was granted leave to appeal after his legal team immediately lodged it with the intention of going to a higher court. The granting of the leave to appeal meant that he would continue with his job as an MP until his appeal is heard and concluded. Even then, the politician still has an option to go to a higher court, such as the Constitutional Court, which may take a very long time and he may not even go to jail.
- Immediately after the leave to appeal was granted, the party reacted to the sentence and vehemently condemned the manner in which the prosecution handled the matter. The EFF said the party is particularly concerned that Malema’s legal team’s well-reasoned arguments were not sufficiently weighed in the final outcome, “reinforcing our long-held view that this prosecution has been driven not by a neutral application of the law, but by a desire to make an example of President Malema.”
- “The EFF reiterates that this prosecution and sentencing cannot be divorced from the broader political environment in which it has unfolded. President Malema has long been the target of sustained campaigns by right-wing organisations such as AfriForum, whose litigation strategy is explicitly aimed at silencing a radical and uncompromising opponent of white supremacy and land dispossession,” the party said in a statement.
- The EFF leader had been serving as a member of Parliament since the 2014 elections, which the EFF contested for the first time, a year after its formation in 2013. Following the May 2024 general election, the EFF became the fourth largest party in the country after it was replaced by Jacob Zuma’s MP Party in the position.
- Malema was accused of firing a rifle in public during a party’s 5th anniversary rally at Mdantsane’s Sisa Dukashe stadium in the Eastern Cape in 2018 and was convicted in October last year. He was prosecuted after AfriForum laid a criminal charge with the police.
- Discharging a firearm in public is against the law in South Africa and if convicted, a court could sentence the accused to a maximum of 15 years in jail. But there had been many cases where members of the ANC’s former military wing, Umkhonto Wesizwe, fired guns in the air at their members’ funerals as part of their farewell salute to the fallen member. However, there had been nobody arrested for discharging a firearm in public.
- Malema’s sentence has sent tongues wagging, with some believing that he deserved the sentence and there was a need to set an example that would be an example to all politicians in South Africa. Others believed the sentence was unfair as there had been many politicians convicted of even more serious crimes, but had never seen the back of a prison cell.
- In a statement reacting to the sentence, the EFF said the party is particularly concerned that these well-reasoned arguments were not sufficiently weighed in the final outcome, reinforcing our long-held view that this prosecution has been driven not by a neutral application of the law, but by a desire to make an example of its President, Malema.
- The EFF said it had noted the alarming global dimension of attacks against Malema, including statements by US President Donald Trump. “Statements by figures such as Donald Trump, who have openly suggested that leaders like President Malema must be dealt with, reflect the alignment of international reactionary forces with local campaigns to neutralise revolutionary Black leadership in South Africa.”
- The EFF referred to history, saying that history offers similar parallels. Across the African continent and the world, leaders who have stood firmly for the liberation of their people have been subjected to criminalisation, imprisonment, and assassination.
- The fate of Patrice Lumumba, who was overthrown and assassinated for asserting the sovereignty of the Congo; Thomas Sankara, who was eliminated for advancing a radical programme of economic independence; and Steve Biko, who was murdered in detention for mobilising Black Consciousness, all serve as reminders that systems of power do not tolerate uncompromising advocates of African dignity and freedom. Even in democratic South Africa, the persecution of those who challenge entrenched economic power continues in more subtle but equally dangerous forms, through courts, prosecutions, and sustained propaganda.
- “President Malema’s sentencing must therefore be understood within this historical continuum: as part of a broader effort by white capital and its allies to discipline and silence those who refuse to abandon the struggle for land, dignity, and economic emancipation. The EFF stands proudly with President Malema as he continues to appeal this sentence until he clears his name. We thank all fighters and progressive forces who continue to stand with the EFF, as we encourage all fighters and supporters to remain calm as always.”- @NewsSA_Online
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