Malema’s sentence sends a strong message: Gun Free SA
EFF leader Julius Malema was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the KuGompo City Court.
Black News 
Gun Free South Africa (GFSA) says the sentence handed down to Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema in the firearm case sends a strong message on the seriousness of gun violence in the country.
Malema was sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment by the KuGompo City Regional Court in the Eastern Cape after being found guilty last year.
The court has, however, granted him leave to appeal the sentence.
GFSA Executive Director Dr Stanley Maphosa says, “The outcome reinforces the rule of law and affirms that the firearm use in South Africa is strictly regulated and subject to consequences. He has a right to own an arm, it’s a privilege that is under the law, and the law has demonstrated that.”
Maphosa says, “So all five sentences that have been given arise from a single incident of celebration, and it shows that one incident can create multiple offences because firearms introduce immediate and widespread risks. Therefore, they should not be used in celebrations of this manner.”
SELECTIVE JUSTICE
The Forum of South Africa (Fosa) has raised concerns following Malema’s sentence, warning of what it describes as a growing pattern of selective justice in the country.
While reaffirming that no one is above the law, FOSA argues that the justice system is increasingly inconsistent and unevenly applied.
The Forum’s National leader Tebogo Mashilompane says, “We are saying that simply because one can easily see that this is a politically motivated judgement because Julius Malema is a first time offender and I think the legal team, the defence tried to advance that, to say also this issue of a gun, the way he took it from the other guy and then shot that, and then everything was prepared to show that there’s no harm intended to happen, it was a celebratory mode, but now, the magistrate decided not to entertain that.”
