The Makhanda High Court has granted the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader, Julius Malema, leave to appeal his firearm convictions on Monday.

This comes after he was sentenced in April to an effective five years’ direct imprisonment by the East London Regional Court for unlawfully possessing and discharging a rifle at the party’s 2018 Mdantsane rally.

 The EFF leader’s former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, who was charged alongside him, was acquitted of the charges.

The case was brought before the court by the AfriForum, who had laid charges against both of them under the Firearms Control Act, which included unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, reckless endangerment, and discharging a firearm in a public place.