Malema gets 5-year prison sentence

South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison by a magistrate's court on Thursday, April 16, 2026. The sentence follows his conviction for firing an assault rifle in public during a 2018 political rally. The conviction and sentence create a major political crisis for Malema, the polarizing leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and cast significant uncertainty over his political future.