ODM Secretary-General Senator Edwin Sifuna, on Thursday, April 16, termed the sentencing of Julius Malema, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Party Leader, as mindboggling.

Sifuna questioned why Malema had to face the same court after he appealed an earlier ruling on his gun drama case.

He argued that the EFF leader stood no chance of successfully challenging his earlier sentencing.

“Malema had to convince the same court that convicted and sentenced him that his appeal had a “chance of success”. That’s just crazy!” Sifuna remarked.

The Nairobi Senator argued that the unfolding of Malema’s case is reason enough for Kenyans to celebrate the country’s Constitution and safeguard it.

“Under Article 50, we have an automatic Right of Appeal upon conviction as Kenyans. We must keep defending our Constitution,” he reiterated.

On his part, Saboti Member of Parliament (MP) Caleb Amisi stated that the ruling threw a spin in the African Renaissance.

Amisi noted that while fighting for freedoms, leaders would always be subjected to the rule of law and democratic accountability. 

“Africa’s rebirth must be anchored on justice that is impartial, institutions that are independent, and leadership that remains accountable to the law regardless of status or political persuasion,” the MP wrote.

He stated that Africa can only rise when justice is not selective, when democracy is protected, and when political differences are resolved within constitutional and peaceful frameworks.

Meanwhile, Malema’s EFF Party has protested his sentencing. In a statement to the press, EFF accused the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of deliberately pushing for its leader’s conviction.

It questioned why the NPA was hell-bent on sending Malema to jail, yet nobody was injured when he fired the rifle during a public rally.

“This is the same prosecuting authority that routinely fails to secure convictions in cases of violent crime, including murder, rape, and armed robbery, where victims suffer irreversible harm.

“Yet, in a case where no one was injured, the NPA mobilised its full capacity to ensure that President Malema is incarcerated,” the statement read in part.

Malema was slapped with a five-year jail term after a court found him guilty of unlawfully possessing a firearm and discharging it in public.

He was charged in court after a video of him firing several rounds in the air from a semi-automatic rifle during the EFF’s fifth Anniversary celebrations in 2018.