By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
Leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Julius Malema returns to the East London Magistrates Court on Wednesday to conclude his pre-sentencing hearing as the sentencing is scheduled to take place on Thursday.
The EFF leader was found guilty for violating gun laws as he fired gunshots at a rally in Mdantshe in 2018. Many supporters of the EFF have come out in order to show support for their leader as they marched through the city of KuGompo in the Eastern Cape ahead of the proceedings on Tuesday.
The party has also booked out the Jan Smuts stadium, where Malema’s supporters will be stationed with jumbo screens being set up in order for the supporters to follow the court proceedings over the course of these two days.
Malema’s bodyguard, Adrian Snyman, who also faced the charges with him has been acquitted. “In the event that he is sentenced to prison time, he will have no choice but to resign from the parliament position” said political commentator Zweli Ndevu.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo has stated that the party is prepared for whatever the court handed down.
In January, Malema’s legal team appeared before the magistrate Twanet Olivier to argue for mitigation of sentence, as they called social worker Jessie Thompson to the stand.
Thompson prepared a pre-sentencing report on Malema, as he testified that he meant no harm when he fired shots in the air that day in Mdantsane and recommended that Malema be handed a fine instead rather than give him prison time.
Malema has continued to maintain that he is in fact not guilty and that the gun used to fire the shots was a toy. Legal expert Ulrich Roux has stated that the offences that Malema is charged with and convicted of do not fall under the Minimum Sentences Act.
“So in other words there is no minimum sentence prescribed for the offences he has been convicted of” said Roux.
“In other words, whether it will deter would-be offenders from committing similar crimes and prevent such offences in the future…these factors must be balanced with a measure of mercy by the magistrate and a just sentence must be handed down,” said Roux.