South African opposition politician Julius Malema, 45, has been sentenced to five years after being found guilty of the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public.
Malema’s lawyer immediately appealed against the decision to prevent the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters and member of parliament from being taken to prison.
Standing in the East London court in a dark suit and red tie, Malema showed little emotion as Magistrate Twanet Olivier read out the sentence.
Last year, he was convicted of five offences, including the unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging it in a public space and reckless endangerment.
The charges related to an incident in 2018 when a video emerged showing Malema using a semi-automatic rifle to fire several shots in the air during his party’s fifth anniversary celebrations held in the country’s Eastern Cape province.
In his defence, Malema told the court the firearm was not his and that he had fired the shots to rouse the crowd, South African news site SowetanLIVE reported at the time.
But during her sentencing ruling Olivier said “it wasn’t… an impulsive act. It was the event of the evening,” the AFP news agency reports.
Malema has a long reputation as being an outspoken, charismatic and radical left-wing politician and has a loyal band of supporters.