By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The High Court in Makhanda has granted Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Leader, Julius Malema leave to appeal his conviction in his firearm case.
Malema was sentenced to five years direct imprisonment by the East London Magistrates Court in April.
He was found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, unlawful discharge of a firearm in a built-up area, failure to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger, and reckless endangerment to persons or property.
His case stems from a viral video taken during the EFF’s fifth-anniversary celebrations at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane in July 2018, showing him firing shots into the air.
Malema’s legal team then petitioned the High Court.
An order signed by the High Court on Monday, 28 September, said Malema’s legal team has provided sufficient reasons for the matter to now be heard.
The High Court’s decision comes just days after multiple mass killing incidents across the country.
In one of the bloodiest weekends in recent South African history, mass shootings claimed the lives of at least 27 people, with another 26 wounded, in separate attacks.
The first shooting, at a tavern in Wedela, near Carletonville, on the West Rand, on Saturday night, claimed 17 lives and left 15 injured.
A second mass shooting at an entertainment venue in Lwandle in the Western Cape in the early hours of Sunday left 10 people dead and 11 injured.
South Africa’s recent deadly mass shootings:
- 27 September 2026 – Lwandle, Western Cape: 10 people killed and 11 injured after gunmen opened fire at an entertainment venue.
- 26 September – Wedela, Gauteng: 17 people were killed and 15 injured when eight armed men reportedly opened fire at a tavern.
- 22 September – KwaMakhutha, KwaZulu-Natal: 11 people initially reported killed and three injured after gunmen attacked a house party. The death toll rose to 12.
- 9 June – Jumpers, Cleveland, Johannesburg: 12 people killed and at least nine injured when gunmen opened fire at an informal settlement.
- 8 August – Langa, Cape Town: Five people killed in shooting at house.
- 26 July – NY50, Gugulethu, Cape Town: Five killed and one injured.
- 17 January – Marikana, Philippi East, Cape Town: Nine people killed in a tavern/shebeen shooting.
- 6 December 2025 – Saulsville, Pretoria: 12 killed and 13 injured.
- 21 December 2025 – Bekkersdal, Gauteng: Nine were killed and 10 injured.
- 5 October 2025 – Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit: Five people were killed and six injured.
Research by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) previously showed police recorded 314 incidents in which three or more people were killed in a single attack between 2017-18 and 2019-20.