State seeks 15-year term for Malema in firearm discharge case

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema’s legal team has characterised the prosecution’s demand for a 15-year prison sentence as a calculated attempt to inflame public passion.

Malema appeared in the KuGompo City Magistrate's Court on Wednesday for final heads of argument in his pre-sentencing proceedings. The appearance follows a recent guilty verdict related to an incident in 2018, where Malema fired a rifle into the air during a rally.

The prosecution has called for the harshest possible penalty, arguing that Malema endangered the lives of more than 20,000 people when he discharged the firearm.

Based on the gravity of the incident, the State has recommended a custodial sentence of at least 15 years behind bars.

Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC, representing Malema, argued that such a sentence would be entirely disproportionate to the facts of the case. He dismissed the State’s recommendation as irrational.

READ: Malema sentencing: Lawyer argues custodial sentence would be 'grossly unfair'

"The correct postulation is one bullet in a 20,000-capacity stadium. Ask yourself in those circumstances if you should send this man to prison. It’s like a game that they are playing to inflame the passions of the public."

Malema's legal team maintains that a suspended sentence or a fine would be the appropriate penalty for the offence.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place on Thursday.