Can the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), as a party, survive without Julius Malema’s cult of personality? The embattled EFF leader’s sentencing awaits after he was convicted on multiple charges in terms of the Firearms Control Act.

On 28 July 2018, Malema fired several shots during the EFF’s fifth birthday celebrations at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium outside East London, and was subsequently found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharge of a firearm in a built-up area, failure to take reasonable precautions to person or property and reckless endangerment to person or property.
Now, not only his future, but that of the party he founded – one based on his firebrand politics and centred on his populace appeal – faces an uncertain future.

According to Prof. Kedibone Phago, political expert at the North-West University (NWU), Malema will use all means necessary, including promoting wide-spread public disruptions, if it means keeping himself out of jail.

“I think the issue of the country’s stability is very serious. One of the strategies Julius Malema is most likely to use is to find, mobilise, and see whether he can garner support from his membership and other supporters to threaten the security and stability of the country. That is quite serious, because we know that previously Jacob Zuma used that tactic and it appeared to work very well for him. There is therefore no reason why Julius Malema would not employ a strategy aimed at threatening our stability.” – Prof. Kedibone Phago

“This is particularly important for him because he will be weighing the situation in determining whether it allows him to get away with this, or whether he is more likely to be punished or sentenced. If it comes to that, the only option I see for him to save his own skin, and also to save his political party, is to do everything he can, even if it means compromising the safety and stability of the country. He would be likely to take that route. It is therefore quite important that the security cluster and the political leadership in the country pay close attention to the development of this case, and ensure that South Africans are well secured and safe, that we are able to continue doing business, and that our institutions continue to function, irrespective of who is being sentenced, or of their political status and standing in the country,” Phago explains.

D-day is today.