Cool heads must prevail in aftermath of jail sentence for Julius Malema

The sentencing of EFF leader Julius Malema to an effective five-year term in prison calls for cool heads.

As a highly polarising political figure, it is not a surprise that the custodial sentence is splitting the country into mainly two diametrically opposed factions.

One, made up mainly of his political detractors, believes both the guilt verdict and the subsequent sentence in the case of his illegal discharging of a firearm during an EFF rally in 2018 are justified.

They prove that in our country, despite its many problems, the rule of law remains a reality and that no individual, no matter how powerful they may be, is above the law.

His supporters, on the other hand, argue that the whole saga is politically motivated — that the state would not have even charged him were it not for the active agitation by the right-wing-leaning AfriForum, whose member is a complainant in the case.

The five-year sentence, which if sustained by a higher court would mean that Malema loses his parliamentary seat, is seen by his supporters as an attempt by his political detractors to “silence” his voice and derail the EFF from forming part of a future government.

However, in all of these debates and politicking, we should not lose sight of the fact that this is essentially a criminal case.

Malema has gone through a legal process and was found guilty by a competent court of law.

Now while everyone is entitled to their views on both the judgment and the sentence, it is important that we do not allow political temperatures to rise so high on the issue that we end up undermining the justice system.

Malema still has other avenues, including petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal, to challenge both the ruling and the sentence.

It is therefore unacceptable for anyone to cast aspersions on magistrate Twanet Olivier and her decisions.

Let Malema approach the higher courts and have those courts decide on whether the magistrate applied the law correctly.

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