KUGOMPO CITY- Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader Julius Malema has taken aim at Magistrate Twanet Olivier for failing to engage the heads of arguments before her.
At the centre of his criticism was the allegation that the magistrate who presided over his firearm discharge case appeared to have been unaware that the firearm which he used was handed back to the owner.
“We are tried by a magistrate who doesn't read, who uses emotions, who speaks politics...”
The sharp criticism came just after Olivier handed down the sentence against Malema at East London Regional Court on Thursday.
Malema was sentenced to five years' direct imprisonment in his firearm handling and discharge case.
The sentence was handed down in a packed courtroom, while other members of the EFF gathered outside in solidarity with Malema.
Malema was convicted of five counts last October, including violating the Firearms Control Act after firing live rounds during his party's birthday celebrations in 2018.
READ| Julius Malema sentenced to 5 years in prison in firearm discharge case
Malema rejected claims that the supporters who came to court in his support disrupted proceedings.
"She kept us here for so many years and comes back and blames us for disturbing the courts. We did not come to court on our own; she invited us to the court, and we responded.
"If you don't come to court, you get arrested. If you come to court, they say you are disturbing court, therefore you must go to prison...
"That was not law that was racism speaking," he said.
Malema further slammed the magistrate as being incompetent.
While Olivier granted him leave to appeal his five-year prison sentence, his application to appeal his conviction was denied.
READ | EXPLAINER | Malema granted leave to appeal sentence, not conviction
The EFF has issued a strong response to the sentencing of Julius Malema.
The party said the case had been pursued in a highly politicised environment, aimed at criminalising what it calls a revolutionary political voice, representing the oppressed and marginalised.
It described the sentence as disproportionate and inconsistent with the facts.
The EFF also accuses the NPA of a “deeply suspicious appetite for imprisonment,” while failing to secure convictions in major violent crime cases.
The party said it stands firmly with its leader.