Julius Malema, the leader of the radical anti-white Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, was found guilty Wednesday of violating South African firearms laws by firing a rifle onstage during a 2018 political rally.
The charge against him was originally filed by Afriforum, which advocates for the rights of Afrikaners. South African law allows private citizens to initiate prosecutions by filing charges with police, who then investigate.
Malema could face up to 15 years in prison.
It is not clear, as of this writing, what his sentence will be, though he was defiant, telling supporters that he would view going to prison as a “badge of honor,” as it was for political prisoners in the country’s history.
Malema is notorious for leading chants of “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” at political rallies, which drew negative attention from the White House. Malema has faced harsher judicial scrutiny since U.S. President Donald Trump publicly confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa about Malema’s rhetoric during their Oval Office meeting in May. Prior to that, Malema had been acquitted of using hate speech.
Malema’s rallies often feature violent rallies and gestures, including the simulated firing of weapons.
The court that convicted Malema acquitted his bodyguard, who was said to have handled the firearm.
South Africa has millions of illegal guns, many of which flooded the country during the waning years of apartheid. Gun control is a controversial issue in the country, where many people — black and white, rich and poor — believe that personal firearms are necessary for self-defense against violent criminals.
Many black South Africans also support gun rights, having been denied the right to own firearms under apartheid.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Zionist Conspiracy Wants You, now available on Amazon. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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