Julius Malema is facing up to 15 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of the unlawful use of a firearm. Many South Africans have brought up a similar incident and verdict from another high-profile figure – Oscar Pistorius.
The former Paralympian was charged with reckless endangerment after a gun in his possession discharged in a public place, on two separate occasions.
The nature of the incidents were heard in court during his high-profile trial for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius – described as “trigger happy” – shot and killed the model after mistaking her for a home intruder.
OSCAR PISTORIUS VS MALEMA: RECKLESS FIREARM INCIDENTS
On Wednesday, 1 October, Julius Malema was found guilty of contravening the Firearms Control Act. This related to a viral video of him discharging a firearm at the party’s fifth birthday celebrations in Mdatsane in 2018.
The Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) – who faces a minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment – was found guilty on five charges: unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging a firearm in a public place, reckless endangerment of people or property, and failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger.
On the X app, South Africans have noted the similarity of Malema’s actions and those of Oscar Pistorius.
The convicted murderer was also found guilty of the reckless use of a firearm relating to two incidents.
In one – which took shortly before Reeva’s murder – Pistorius fired a shot from his friend’s pistol under a table at Tasha’s Restaurant in Melrose Arch.
According to testimonies heard during the trial, the restaurant was crowded, with an adjacent table seating a little child. He was charged with reckless endangerment of people and property.
In another incident months earlier, Oscar Pistorius fired live rounds from his firearm out of the open sunroof. According to his girlfriend at the time, Samantha Taylor, Pistorius reacted out of anger after he was pulled over by police for speeding. The blonde woman claimed that Pistorius “laughed” while firing his gun.
He was also charged with discharging a firearm in public and the illegal possession of ammunition.
Pistorius was ultimately given a three-year suspended sentence for contravening the Firearms Control Act. This ran concurrently with his then five-year culpable homicide sentence, later upgraded to murder. Last year, Pistorius was released on parole after serving half of his murder sentence.
‘RECKLESS GUN OWNER’
During the murder trial of Reeva Steenkamp, Oscar Pistorius’s ex Samantha Taylor testified that he was a “reckless gun owner”.
Taylor testified that Pistorius had asked his pal Darren Fresco to take the blame for the firearm incident in the restaurant.
During the sunroof incident, Taylor described how Pistorius had become “angry” after a police officer who initially pulled him over for speeding, admonished him for leaving his firearm on the car seat.
Reeva’s best friend, Gina Myers, also described Oscar Pistorius’s “red flags”, particularly when it came to his guns.
During the 2022 M-Net documentary My Name Is Reeva, the professional make-up artist reflected on several occasions where Oscar unashamedly “stalked” Reeva during their relationship.
Another concern was witnessing Oscar “carelessly” leaving his gun lying around.
She said: “I know he’s aggressive, and I know he’s irresponsible with his gun.” She added, “Was it that gun he used to kill her? Who leaves their gun just lying around?”
