EFF leader Julius Malema. Picture: Facebook/Economic Freedom Fighters EFF president Julius Malema will this week attend his pre-sentencing hearings at the East London Magistrate’s Court after being found to have violated several gun laws by the same court last year. The EFF has mobilised its members to gather in court on 23 January to support Malema on what they have described as politically trumped charges and an irrational judgment by the president magistrate.
The matter stems from the EFF fifth anniversary celebration in 2018, where Malema is accused of shooting live bullets in the air and endangering the lives of those who were around. He was alsocharged with the illegal possession of a firearm. Initially, Malema claimed that he had used a toy gun.
Some legal experts have estimated 15 years as the maximum sentence for violating the firearms control act. Political analyst Andre Duvenhage toldThe Citizenthat he believes that the final sentencing could dismantle Malema’s political career and possibly see him being removed from parliament. “Julius is in real trouble; the only thing that he can do is what we have described as following the Stalingrad strategy.
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He can try to appeal and do what Zuma does in court, but that is going to be extremely difficult. I will not be surprised if we are in the last phase of Julius Malema. “I think that he is going to get a tough decision, and we need to remember that if he is found guilty, for more than a year, he will lose his position in parliament,” he said.
According to section 47 of the constitution, one cannot become a member of the National Assembly if they have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to 12 months or more in prison. One can only be eligible again five years after the sentence ends.
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