Malema to beef up legal team as he prepares to appeal firearm discharge conviction

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema is looking to beef up his legal team as he prepares to appeal his conviction on charges related to using a firearm in public.

The East London Magistrate's Court on Wednesday found Malema guilty of breaching sections of the Firearms Control Act.

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The case stems from a 2018 rally in Mdantsane, where he fired shots into the air in close proximity to thousands of people.

While the State argued that he recklessly endangered lives and property, Malema maintained the weapon was a toy gun.

The East London Magistrate's Court found that Malema harmed his own case by evading questions during the trial.

The court also ruled that some of the defence witnesses did him no favours, saying they were argumentative rather than responsive.

Malema has rejected the judgment and said he was beefing up his legal team to launch an appeal.

"As we move forward, we are going to reinforce our legal team. We will bring Advocate [Tembeka] Ngcukaitobi as we go into the appeal. We will strengthen our case because it is now beyond all of us. We need to strengthen our team and confront the system, and you need lawyers who are not scared of the system."

He’s set to return to court on 23 January for pre-sentencing procedures.

Malema will be barred from serving as a member of Parliament (MP) for five years if he’s sentenced to more than 12 months without the option of a fine.