{"id":97297,"date":"2026-04-15T14:35:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court"},"modified":"2026-04-15T15:14:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T15:14:44","slug":"julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court","title":{"rendered":"Julius Malema Awaits Verdict After Eight Years in Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>After years of being in the dock at the Kugompo Magistrate’s Court, Julius Malema is set to finally find out whether he will remain a free man.<\/p>\n

It has been eight years since the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader was captured in a viral video firing a rifle into the air during a rally in Mdantsane in 2018.<\/p>\n

As a conviction hangs over him, Malema will return to court on Thursday, where his sentence is expected to be handed down.<\/p>\n

The case has now been concluded, with sentencing being the only remaining item.<\/p>\n

Malema has been a frequent presence at the court over the past eight years.<\/p>\n

His case has been marked by repeated clashes with presiding magistrate Twanet Olivier, including several heated confrontations in court like this one.<\/p>\n

IN PICS | EFF supporters gather in KuGompo City to support Malema<\/p>\n

“We have been here for five years. She is never early in this court and no one has ever written an article about that. She\u2019s not above the law,” he said.<\/p>\n

And even on the witness stand, Malema defended his decision to fire the rifle.<\/p>\n

“I can\u2019t stand here and say that\u2019s a 9mm barrel. I don\u2019t know, I can\u2019t see if it’s a small or big firearm.”<\/p>\n

Malema was found guilty of contravening firearm laws.<\/p>\n

But regardless of this, Malema believes he will sleep at home on Thursday.<\/p>\n

“I was telling some young journalist I was talking to inside there that tomorrow when they go home these journalists I will be going home with them. They are not leaving me, they are not leaving me in this court.”<\/p>\n

EWN understands a legal team is on standby to start an appeal process should the decision not favour Malema.<\/p>\n

At the same time, EFF supporters will hold another vigil tonight.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. After years of being in the dock at the Kugompo Magistrate’s Court, Julius Malema is set to finally find out whether he will remain a free man. It has been eight years since the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader was captured in a viral video firing a rifle into the air during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":97296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-97297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nJulius Malema Awaits Verdict After Eight Years in Court - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After years of being in the dock at the Kugompo Magistrate's Court, Julius Malema is set to finally find out whether he ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Julius Malema Awaits Verdict After Eight Years in Court\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After years of being in the dock at the Kugompo Magistrate's Court, Julius Malema is set to finally find out whether he ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T14:35:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T15:14:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253448.633874.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Julius Malema Awaits Verdict After Eight Years in Court\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-15T14:35:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T15:14:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court\"},\"wordCount\":326,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2026\/04\/sm_1776253448.633874.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/julius-malema-awaits-verdict-after-eight-years-in-court\",\"name\":\"Julius Malema Awaits Verdict After Eight Years in Court - 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