Fikile Mbalula (Photo: X)
Fikile Mbalula, the ANC’s secretary general, says Julius Malema’s punishment is too severe.
The EFF leader was sentenced to five years in prison in KuGompo City Magistrates’ Court (formerly East London) on Thursday, after being found guilty last year on five charges relating to the breach of the Firearms Control Act.
Mbalula is now attacking AfriForum because the civil rights organization brought the charges against Malema in 2018, after he fired a firearm during the EFF’s fifth birthday celebration.
“The main message conveyed here by the racist Afriforum is that if we dare to stand up for black people, dare to stand up for the marginalized and dare to stand up for our generational mission, we will be targeted,” reads an entry on Mbalula’s social media.
“When I fought for Julius to succeed me as president of the ANC Youth League, we knew that the road ahead would be treacherous and that the grandchildren of apartheid would never stop targeting the freedom of our lifetime generation.
“This sentence is too severe…”
The main message we are being told here by the racist Afriforum is that if we dare stand up for black people, dare stand up for the marginalised and dare stand up for our generational mission we will be targeted.
When I fought for Julius to succeed me as ANCYL President we knew…
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) April 16, 2026
‘Strong punishment for firearms crime important’
Geordin Hill-Lewis, newly elected leader of the DA, disagrees.
“It is important to severely punish illegal firearms crimes,” Hill-Lewis said in response to the sentence.
The DA therefore welcomes Malema’s sentence.
???? The DA welcomes the sentencing of Julius Malema for the illegal use of a firearm in public. Gun violence is out of control in SA, so any crime involving illegal gunfire is extremely serious.
This sentencing sends a clear message that in South Africa nobody is above the law. pic.twitter.com/Ye8DWWkxHH
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) April 16, 2026
“Firearm violence is out of control in South Africa, therefore any crime involving the illegal firing of firearms is extremely serious.
“Only when people understand that there are consequences for crime will we get gun violence in South Africa under control.”
Hill-Lewis believes Malema’s sentence sends a clear message that no one in South Africa is above the law.
The ACDP feels the same way.
“What matters today is not just the individual, but what this outcome represents for our constitutional order: that the law must apply equally to all citizens in South Africa – whether it is a private citizen or a prominent political leader,” this party said in response to Malema’s sentence.