Julius Malema, 45-year-old leader of South Africa's fourth-largest parliamentary party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was sentenced to five years in prison by Magistrate Twanet Olivier for unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a weapon in public, stemming from firing several shots into the air at a 2018 EFF rally. The sentencing occurred Thursday in KuGompo City, formerly known as East London, following his October conviction and not-guilty plea. Malema's team plans an immediate appeal amid gatherings of hundreds of red-clad EFF supporters outside the court.