EFF leader Julius Malema has been granted leave to appeal his firearm-related convictions by the Makhanda High Court.
Malema petitioned the high court after magistrate Twanet Olivier refused him leave to appeal his convictions in the KuGompo City Regional Court. Olivier had, however, granted him leave to appeal his sentence.
The EFF leader was convicted on charges stemming from the discharge of a firearm during the party’s fifth anniversary celebrations at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane in 2018.
He was sentenced in April to five years’ direct imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm and two years for unlawful possession of ammunition.
He was also fined R20,000 for unlawfully discharging a firearm in a built-up area, failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger to a person or property, and recklessly endangering a person or property.
The sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the five-year prison term, and Malema was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
On Monday, judges Bantubonke Tokota and Murray Lowe granted Malema leave to appeal his convictions before a full bench of the Makhanda High Court.
DAILY DISPATCH