Julius Malema, the leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has been convicted of discharging a firearm in public, an offense that could result in a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. The incident dates back to 2018, when a video surfaced showing Malema firing multiple shots into the air during his party’s fifth-anniversary celebrations in the Eastern Cape province. Malema was charged alongside his former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who was later acquitted. This conviction adds to Malema’s recent legal troubles, as he was found guilty of hate speech less than two months ago. Malema, a polarizing figure in South African politics, has frequently criticized the white minority and advocated for the redistribution of wealth and land to the black majority. The firearm case, which involved charges of unlawful possession, reckless endangerment, and discharging a weapon in public, saw Malema claiming in court that the firearm was not his and that the shots were fired to energize the crowd. Magistrate Twanet Olivier delivered the guilty verdict after three days of proceedings, with sentencing postponed to January 2026. The prosecution was initiated by AfriForum, an Afrikaner lobby group with a contentious relationship with Malema and the EFF. This group also played a role in Malema’s hate speech conviction earlier this year, where the equality court ruled that his inflammatory remarks demonstrated an intent to incite harm. Malema’s legal battles highlight the ongoing racial tensions in South Africa, three decades after the end of apartheid.