The case stems from the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in 2018, when Malema was filmed firing between 14 and 15 live rounds into the air while addressing a crowd of about 20,000 supporters in the Eastern Cape.
Julius Malema, a South African opposition politician has been convicted of multiple firearm-related offences after a video showed him firing a gun during a party rally seven years ago.
Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was convicted on five counts, including the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, reckless endangerment, and discharging a firearm in a public space, according to BBC.
The most serious charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
The case stems from the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in 2018, when Malema was filmed firing between 14 and 15 live rounds into the air while addressing a crowd of about 20,000 supporters in the Eastern Cape.
His former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who was charged alongside him, was acquitted.
In his defence, Malema told the court the firearm was not his and that he only fired the shots “to rouse the crowd.”
After three days of deliberations, magistrate Twanet Olivier ruled, “You are found guilty as charged.”
The case has been postponed to January 2026 for pre-sentencing.
Malema, who appeared unfazed after the verdict, addressed supporters outside the East London regional court.
“Going to prison or death is a badge of honour,” he declared.
“We cannot be scared of prison [or] to die for the revolution. Whatever they want to do, they must know we will never retreat.”
Malema vowed to challenge the judgment, promising to take the matter “even up to the Constitutional Court.”
This is not Malema’s first run-in with the law.
Less than two months ago, South Africa’s equality court convicted him of hate speech following remarks that judges said were meant to incite violence.
At a rally last year, Malema told supporters, “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.”
The court found the comments “demonstrated an intent to incite harm,” though the EFF insisted his words had been taken out of context.
His prosecution over the firearm incident followed a complaint lodged by Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum after the 2018 video went viral.
AfriForum has repeatedly clashed with Malema, including filing the earlier hate speech complaint that led to his conviction in August.
Malema’s rhetoric has drawn criticism beyond South Africa’s borders.
In May, during a White House meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa, U.S. President Donald Trump screened clips of Malema calling for the seizure of white-owned land and chanting “Kill the Boer, Kill the farmer” as supposed proof of attacks on Afrikaners, claims widely discredited by researchers.
The following month, Malema was barred from entering the UK.
The British Home Office said he had been deemed “non-conducive to the public good” over his remarks about white people and his support for Hamas.
Opposition politicians and analysts have welcomed the ruling.
Ian Cameron of the Democratic Alliance described Malema’s conduct as emblematic of the EFF’s “culture of chaos, violence and criminality.”
A man who fires live rounds at a political rally demonstrates exactly the kind of thuggery the EFF is prepared to unleash on South Africa, Cameron said.
Legal analyst Ulrich Roux told the BBC there was a strong possibility Malema could face prison time.
“He now needs to present evidence to the court to show why… he should not receive the minimum sentence of 15 years,” BBC quoted Roux explaining.
Under South African law, any prison sentence longer than 12 months “without the option of a fine” disqualifies a person from serving as a member of parliament.
However, the constitution stipulates that such a sentence only becomes binding once all appeals have been exhausted.
Malema’s sentencing in January will determine not only his personal fate but also the political future of one of South Africa’s most polarising figures.
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