Malema's darkest hour looms

The possibility of its leader being jailed means the party faces an unprecedented leadership issue

- Mandisa Nyathi

Moment of truth: EFF leader Julius Malema says the charges against him are politically motivated.

(Photo: EFF)

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is bracing for a politically fraught period as party leader Julius Malema awaits sentencing in a firearm case on Friday, a moment that could test the party's reliance on its founding president and reshape its internal dynamics before the 2026 local government elections.

Last year the East London Magistrate's Court convicted Malema on charges related to the discharge of a firearm at the EFF's fifth anniversary rally in Mdantsane in 2018. He had fired a rifle into the air while addressing supporters. His bodyguard and co-accused Adriaan Snyman was acquitted.

Malema said he would appeal the conviction in a case he called politically motivated. The state argued that he recklessly endangered lives.

The court is scheduled to hand down sentencing on Friday. Possible penalties the EFF leader faces range from a fine or suspended sentence to imprisonment.

The party this week reiterated its rejection of the judgment and confirmed it was appealing it. An official told the Mail & Guardian: "We are confident that a higher court that is less emotional will come to a completely different conclusion based on the merits given to the magistrate during this trial. We have to appeal this nonsensical judgement."

The appeal process will probably delay finality.

The conviction has prompted questions about what the outcome could mean for a party whose political identity has, for more than a decade, been inseparable from Malema.

Courts can impose a suspended sentence, depending on the mitigating factors, said Shadi Maganoe, a law lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand.