NPA says Malema’s sentence will serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders in firearm-related offences [SOUND]

# The National Prosecuting Authority says EFF leader Julius Malema’s five-year direct imprisonment sentence will have the desired effect of deterrence against would-be offenders in firearm-related offences. His case stems from a 2018 incident in Mdantsane, where he fired a rifle during the party’s fifth birthday rally. The East London Magistrate’s Court granted Malema leave to appeal his prison sentence but not his conviction. The NPA’s Luxolo Tyali says the sentence underscores the principle of equality before the law: