An insight into the criminal legal system in South Africa
On 1 October 2025, the East London Regional Court convicted Julius Malema on multiple gun related charges, the EFF leader being found guilty of, amongst others, unlawful possession of a firearm.
South Africa has strict gun control laws, albeit they are not enforced effectively, with the abovementioned offence being regulated in terms of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000, and it carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Malema could therefore potentially be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
However, bearing in mind how important the case is, why will it have taken more than 6 years from the date the offence was committed for a sentence to be handed down?
The matter was postponed to 23 January 2026 for a pre-sentence hearing. The criminal legal system in South Africa appears to not be conducive to quick judgements from the time an offence is committed, due to the procedural steps that need to be taken in each case.
Below is a brief synopsis of this process, with reference to Malema’s recent trial and conviction.
THE CRIMINAL PROCESS
During an EFF rally in 2018, Malema fired a rifle into the air while on stage, subsequently, AfriForum filed a criminal complaint against Malema. Once a criminal complaint is received by the South African Police Service (“SAPS”), a case docket is opened and the docket is registered on the CAS system, which provides the SAPS and the complainant with a case number, the accused person is then charged with the alleged offence.
The docket is then allocated to an investigating officer or detective, who investigates the accused person for the offence by collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses. The docket is then sent by the SAPS to the prosecutors, who decide whether or not to prosecute. This process can take months or years. If the prosecutors decide to prosecute, the accused person will appear in court for his or her first appearance within 48 hours, but usually the morning after being arrested or being called to the police station and processed, the matter will then usually be postponed for further investigations by the SAPS.
Criminal cases are ordinarily postponed multiple times, and for at least a month at time between each postponement, before the trial even starts. These postponements may take place for further investigations to take place, for the accused person to make representations to the prosecutors or for the attendance of witnesses to be secured.
Malema was charged in September 2019. After his first appearance, the case was postponed on multiple occasions due to numerous factors such as changing of legal teams and the illness and unavailability of magistrates. A trial date would only have been allocated in 2020, more than 4 months after Malema was charged, due to pre-trial procedures and the lengthy postponements between each appearance for these procedures to take place. For instance, matters are postponed for the contents of the docket to be disclosed to the accused and then for the accused to enter his plea, and then only for the trial to take place at a later stage.
Once the trial began, various delays occurred due to COVID-19 restrictions, and each appearance in the trial was separated by months, trial hearing dates are always allocated months apart in our courts, which explains the lengthy delay in Malema’s case. The additional factor of Malema’s case being particularly complicated meant that the presentation of evidence by the accused and the state, and closing arguments were very lengthy and the court appearances in which these processes were spread over years.
Malema has now eventually been convicted by the Court, and being on bail, he will still be free to participate in society until his next hearing which only takes place next year. After Malema’s next appearance, the hearing in which the sentence will be handed down will still need to be scheduled. It could potentially only be in March 2026 when Malema’s sentence is handed down. This fact provides an insight into why securing bail at an accused persons first appearance is so important.
CONLUSION
The criminal justice system is complicated and can be a nightmare to navigate. If you are arrested or called by the police, it is best to have a legal team in your corner who can guide you through the process and ensure you secure bail and that your experience is minimally distressing. The attorneys at SWVG INC are greatly experienced in criminal matters and have secured results for clients reliably for many years, if you find yourself in criminal trouble, please do not hesitate to contact us.
