South African opposition leader Julius Sello Malema has reacted to his conviction and sentencing, declaring that he is not afraid of imprisonment or death.
Malema, founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF, made the remarks in a Facebook post on Thursday following his sentencing to five years in prison.
“I will sleep comfortably in my bed. You are scared of a political debate. You use court to settle political differences,” he wrote, alleging that legal action was being used against him for political reasons.
The EFF leader stated that he had long anticipated the risks associated with his political activism.
According to him, “When I joined the struggle, I knew three things might happen to me: they will either arrest me or kill me. If they don’t kill me, I will attain my freedom.”
He added that his movement was driven by broader socio-economic concerns, including poverty, unemployment, and landlessness, stressing that these issues remain the real fears confronting black South Africans.
DAILY POST reports that Malema’s comments come after a South African court sentenced him for unlawfully discharging a firearm during an EFF rally in 2018.
Magistrate Twanet Olivier ruled that the opposition figure had deliberately violated firearm laws by firing an assault rifle into the air.
The sentencing drew a strong reaction from supporters, as scores of EFF members dressed in the party’s signature red attire gathered outside the court in a show of solidarity.
‘I knew three things might happen to me’ – Julius Malema reacts to conviction