Malema has been the president of the EFF since its founding in 2013.
The future of the EFF could be at risk as leader Julius Malema faces a prison term after being found guilty of firearm-related transgressions by the East London Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
Malema was found guilty of five charges, including the unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging a firearm in a public area, reckless endangerment of persons or property and failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger.
The maximum penalty for the first charge is 15 years behind bars.
EFF’s future tied to Malema
Political analyst Andre Duvenhage, believes that the outcome of this court case will have implications for Malema’s political career.
“The question now is what the nature of the sentence is going to be and how it will affect his political career. I believe that he will not survive this.
“If there is a jail sentence, no doubt this will finish his political career,” he said.
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‘He no longer has the fight’
Duvenhage said he believes that the EFF could suffer as a result of the judgment because the party has been “built” around Malema’s image.
“We should not forget that the other strong leaders of the party have disappeared,” he said.
Duvenhage said he does not expect Malema to go down without a fight.
“He will try to go through the appeal route, which is normally the strategy. He could even do an ANC-type Stalingrad strategy. But what I am seeing as missing is some political momentum on the side of the EFF.
“Even when I look at Julius, he looks like a sick man. He no longer has the fight and the momentum that he had five or 10 years ago,” said Duvenhage.
Too early to predict
Another political analyst, Ntsikelelo Breakfast, said it is too early to predict the implications of the East London Magistrate’s Court decision.
He agreed that Malema is likely to exhaust all legal avenues available to him to clear his name.
“There are many possibilities and the Constitutional Court is the final arbiter over all matters of the law. This is an interesting turn of events. This is about democracy and the rule of law.
“If Zuma can be sent to prison, who is Julius Malema?” he said.
Breakfast also agrees that the EFF’s problem is that it has created its image around Malema.
“The party is built on his image and if things take a turn for the worse, it will put the party on the back foot,” he said.
AfriForum welcomes the judgment
Meanwhile, AfriForum CEO Kalie Kriel told The Citizen that this judgment shows that not even politicians are above the law.
The lobby group was the first to report Malema to police after the video of him shooting a gun in the air surfaced.
“We are quite happy with the fact that equality before the law has prevailed and the message has been sent out that nobody is above the law and that there is no such thing as no one is untouchable,” he said.
Kriel said he believes that the state was thorough in the case it presented in court. He said he believes this could be the end of the road for Malema.
“He has full rights to appeal, but this case is a tough case. I do not see how he can escape this time,” he said.
What now?
On Thursday, EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said the party would not take the verdict lying down.
“We will engage the judgment further, seek comprehensive legal advice and move to appeal this ruling, trusting that higher courts will expose the weaknesses and contradictions of this prosecution,” he said.
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