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EFF leader Julius Malema
Legal Analyst and Advocate Mpilonhle Baloyi says Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader Julius Malema has slim chances of escaping a jail term following his conviction last year for the unlawful discharge of a firearm during a 2018 party rally.
Malema is set to learn his fate on Friday in the East London Magistrate’s Court as sentencing looms.
The case was brought by lobby group AfriForum.
Analyst Baloyi has dismissed Malema’s claim that the judgment delivered in October was politically motivated.
“We have to consider this matter in its entirety and its seriousness. And at the core of this, it’s important that we understand what the charge is about and what offence has been committed. At the centre of this is contravention of the Firearms Control Act. So, we must understand that South Africa in itself has got a firearms problem. There are issues of unlicensed firearms and incidents of shootings that we hear of almost on a day-to-day basis. He has spoken quite a lot on judicial independence and for the upholding of the rule of law. Here’s a perfect example of himself now in the dock. He needs to show that indeed he abides by the rule of law and he himself is not above the law,” says Baloyi.
Malema firearm case back in court on Friday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy1vhz1nteY
