By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema sentencing has been postponed to Thursday, 16 April 2026 at the kuGompo Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape.
Malema was found guilty of violating the Firearms Control Act regarding a 2018 rally and the state is calling for 15 years of direct imprisonment.
The case stems from the party’s fifth birthday celebrations, where Malema is accused of reckless endangerment after firing a rifle in front of thousands of supporters at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane in 2018.
Lobby group AfriForum brought the charges against Malema, and the matter has been sitting before Magistrate Twanette Olivier.
Magistrate Olivier is also known for sentencing Sibongile Mani, a former Walter Sisulu University accounting student who mistakenly received R14 million from NSFAS, to five years direct imprisonment.
Malema was previously charged alongside his co-accused and former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, before Olivier dropped the charges against him due to insufficient evidence. Snyman was alleged to have handed over the rifle used in the incident.
He was convicted in October 2025 on five charges, and the sentencing outcome could have significant political implications, particularly for his position as a Member of Parliament.
If he is sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the option of a fine, he could be disqualified from serving in the National Assembly.
In terms of Section 47(1)(e) of the Constitution, Malema would only lose his seat in Parliament if he were sentenced to more than 12 months.
During the proceedings, State is pushing for a direct imprisonment, arguing that Malema, as a Member of Parliament and public figure, should be held to a higher standard.
“The accused is a Member of Parliament, a lawmaker — yet he is one who broke the law, prosecutor Joel Cesar argued. “If it were anyone else, he would be calling for imprisonment, but now he seeks a non-custodial sentence.”
However, defence legal team advocate Laurence Hodes SC rejected this approach, telling the court it would be “grossly unfair” to use Malema’s political position against him while also insisting he be treated as an ordinary citizen.
“You cannot have it both ways,” Hodes argued. “On the one hand, you say treat him like everyone else. On the other hand, you rely on his status to justify a harsher sentence.”
Hodes further criticised the State’s reliance on case law involving violent offenders, saying: “These are cases dealing with gangsters. The context here is entirely different.”
Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi also for Malema argued that the state had taken an inconsistent approach in emphasising his political prominence.
Ngcukaitobi further accused the prosecution of distorting the evidence. “What they have done is that they have planted words in their heads of argument and then they have imputed a meaning that those words were never designed to achieve,” he said.
He added that the conduct described does not match typical cases of premeditation. “The second conviction is about one bullet, one bullet… ordinary cases of premeditation do not have that element because what you find is that a group of criminals sit and they plot how to execute an offence.”
Ngcukaitobi also noted that the state itself had described premeditation as the “most significant aggravating feature,” arguing that if that foundation is flawed, the argument for imprisonment is significantly weakened.
Magistrate Olivier is expected to deliver the sentencing on Thursday.
Addressing his supporters outside the courtroom, Malema said the outcome of the case does not matter as there is already a guilty verdict.
“We are going to appeal this case until the highest court in the land.”
“When you are appealing, it does not mean you don’t show remorse; it means you disagree with the conclusion of the Magistrate, and therefore you appeal.”