Pretoria-(Maravipost)-South African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of illegally possessing a gun and firing in a public place.
Malema's lawyer said he would appeal the decision to stop the Economic Freedom Fighters leader from being taken to jail.
The length of the sentence may result in his disqualification as an MP.
Malema, standing in court in a dark suit and red tie, showed little emotion as the magistrate handed down the sentence.
Last year, he was convicted of five crimes, including illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, discharging them in a public place and recklessly endangering.
The charges relate to an incident in 2018 when a video emerged showing Malema firing several bullets into the air using a semi-automatic rifle during his party's fifth anniversary celebrations held in the country's Eastern Cape province.
In his defence, Malema told the court that the gun was not his and that he had fired the shots to incite the crowd, as South African news site SowetanLive reported at the time.
After being found guilty last October, Malema told his supporters outside the court in east London that “going to jail or dying is a mark of honour”.
“We cannot be afraid of prison (or) of dying for the revolution. Whatever they want to do, they should know that we will never back down.”
He also vowed to challenge the decision all the way to South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court.
Source: BBC