East London – EFF leader Julius Malema addressed supporters outside the East London Magistrate’s Court on Friday during his pre-sentencing hearing.
Convicted late last year for contravening gun laws at a 2018 party event, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Malema vowed the “revolution must continue” regardless of the outcome, framing the case as an attack by white groups like AfriForum on the EFF as the “only black authority” challenging them.
“No prison can make me to retreat from my ideas. No [threat of] death will make me to retreat from my ideas. Nobody will ever intimidate me and change me from who I am because I am black and I am proud to be black.”
WATCH | EFF Leader Julius Malema says no prison can force him to abandon his ideas, adding that he is the voice of black people. pic.twitter.com/n4I0mCxA4u
— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 23, 2026
He added: “When I joined the struggle, I knew that three things might happen to me – they will either arrest me or they will either kill me. If they do not kill me, I will attain my freedom.”
“We are scared of unemployment, we are scared of being landless, we are scared of living without our dignity as black people.”
Malema accused AfriForum of dodging political debates by weaponising courts, called its members potential “terrorists” if EFF governs, and dismissed judicial bias fueled by “hatred” and white supremacy.
He rejected intimidation, prioritising fears of poverty, landlessness, and black indignity over prison or death.
“We must never be shaken by a court that is informed by hatred, that is informed by politics of AfriForum,” he said.
EFF leader Julius Malema says he is not afraid of prison or death, saying those risks come with the struggle.
He argues that the real threats are poverty, unemployment, landlessness and the loss of dignity, stressing that the fight is about freedom rather than personal safety. pic.twitter.com/ZjDSkAqPWZ
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) January 23, 2026
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compiled by Betha Madhomu
