Malema vs Oscar Pistorius: Is firearm sentence excessive?

· The South African

Julius Malema has been handed down a five-year direct imprisonment sentence for the unlawful discharge of a firearm in public. How does it compare to that of Oscar Pistorius, who committed a similar act on multiple occasions more than a decade ago?

Visit h-doctor.club for more information.

Pistorius was released on parole in 2024 after serving half of his sentence for the murder of his model girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in 2013.

During his high-profile trial, he was described as being “trigger-happy” and “aggressive”. He was also labelled a “reckless gun owner” by a former girlfriend.

JULIUS MALEMA VS OSCAR PISTORIUS FIREARM SENTENCE

On Thursday, 16 April, Julius Malema was sentenced at the Kugompo City Magistrates Court, after he was found guilty of contravening the Firearms Control Act last October.

This is related to a viral video of him discharging a firearm at the party’s fifth birthday celebrations in Mdatsane in 2018. Charges against Malema were filed by Afrikaner rights group, AfriForum.

Magistrate Twanet Olivier handed down the following sentence:

  • Unlawful possession of a firearm – 5 years
  • Unlawful possession of ammunition – 2 years 
  • Discharging a firearm in a built-up/public area- R20 000 / 6 months imprisonment 
  • Failure to take reasonable precautions – R20 000 / 6 months imprisonment 
  • Reckless endangerment of people/property – R20 000 / 6 months imprisonment

The direct imprisonment sentences, totalling 5 years, will run concurrently.

Like Malema, Oscar Pistorius was also found guilty of the reckless use of a firearm in two incidents.

In one – which took place shortly before he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp – 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 occupied by a small 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. In 2024, Pistorius was released on parole after serving half of his murder sentence.

EXCESSIVE, UNEQUAL SENTENCE?

On social media, South Africans have been critiquing Julius Malema’s firearm sentence.

Some have labelled it excessive as compared to convicted murderer, Oscar Pistorius.

Journalist Verashni Pillay tweeted: “How many years did Oscar Pistorius serve for firing a gun in a Tasha’s, Melrose Arch?  Asking for a friend. Oh, that’s right! It was served concurrently with his initial five-year sentence for shooting an actual human being, Reeva Steenkamp”.

Another journalist, Daniel Friedman, posted on Facebook: “This sentence is complete bullsh*t. Oscar Pistorius once fired a gun inside a Tasha’s to zero consequences. He barely got more time for murdering his girlfriend than Malema has now for this nonsense, Afriforum-manufactured offence. It really speaks to who the justice system in South Africa works for”.

Here’s what others had to say…

@MaV_Musanda: “Oscar Pistorius once shot a gun at a restaurant filled with people, but he never got jailed for that; he got a suspended sentence. Malema shot a gun in the air, and he got 5 years’ imprisonment. White privilege prevails”.

@Nswembu184189: “The 5-year sentence and the denial of a conviction appeal clearly show she was vindictive and following a script dictated to her by Afriforum”.

Read full story at source