POLOKWANE – EFF Limpopo chairperson Lawrence Mapoulo has assured residents that planned demonstrations outside the Limpopo High Court’s Polokwane Division in support of party leader Julius Malema will be peaceful and disciplined.

This comes as supporters have vowed to return to the streets when Malema’s appeal is heard at a date yet to be announced.

Also read: EFF Limpopo members rally for Malema as he gets 5 years

The demonstrations follow Malema’s sentencing last Thursday in the Eastern Cape, where he received five years’ direct imprisonment for the unlawful discharge of a firearm during the party’s fifth anniversary celebrations in 2018. He was also convicted of illegal possession of a firearm.

Malema remains free after Magistrate Twanet Olivier granted him leave to appeal both conviction and sentence, with his bail extended.

The court also imposed two years for the possession charge and R20 000 or six years’ imprisonment on each of three additional counts.

Mapoulo: ‘We won’t copy Zuma riots’

Mapoulo emphasised that the EFF would avoid any unrest similar to the July 2021 riots following the arrest of former president, Jacob Zuma.

“We are not going to copy the old man tactics. We are not going to copy what happened with Zuma,” he said.

Party claims charges are politically motivated

The party maintains that the charges against Malema are politically motivated, with Mapoulo alleging international political pressure behind the prosecution.

Malema, who hails from Seshego, was convicted after the state presented video footage from Sisa Dukashe Stadium showing him firing a rifle into the air.

Prosecutors called 19 witnesses and introduced forensic evidence linking the firearm to a security company owned by co-accused Adrian Snyman.

Court rejected defence argument

The court rejected the defence argument that the weapon was a toy firing blanks, finding that the evidence proved violations of the Firearms Control Act.

Supporters gathered in Bodenstein Street during the sentencing, watching proceedings via live projection.

Police maintained a strong presence as EFF members, dressed in red berets, sang outside court.

Some residents, including Seshego’s Koko Elizabeth Bopape, voiced support for Malema, disputing the conviction and describing him as “our child”.

Malema’s legal team is now preparing for the appeal, while the EFF says it will continue to demonstrate in an orderly manner as the legal process unfolds.