Julius Malema, South African opposition leader has been sentenced to five years in prison after a court found him guilty of firing an assault rifle during a political rally.
The judgment was delivered on Thursday in East London, where hundreds of supporters of his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party gathered outside the court in a show of solidarity.
Malema, 45, was convicted over an incident at an EFF rally in 2018, where he fired the weapon into the air.
Delivering sentence, Magistrate Twanet Olivier ruled that the act was deliberate and not accidental.
“It wasn’t an impulsive act. It was the event of the evening,” the magistrate said.
The prosecution had sought the maximum sentence of 15 years after Malema was found guilty in October. However, the court imposed a five-year jail term.
His lawyers argued that the shots were fired in celebration and have indicated plans to challenge the conviction on appeal.
The EFF condemned the case as politically motivated, saying it was aimed at silencing one of South Africa’s most outspoken opposition voices.
Some party members had threatened protests if Malema was imprisoned.
But the court rejected suggestions that the trial targeted the party itself.
“It is not a political party who has been convicted here… it is a person, an individual,” Olivier said.
The case was brought by AfriForum, a conservative group that has long criticised Malema over his rhetoric and use of controversial anti-apartheid songs at rallies.
Among them is the chant “Kill the Boer”, which critics say promotes racial hatred. South African courts have previously dismissed those claims.