The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has been found guilty by the East London Magistrate’s Court on a charge related to the discharge of a firearm during the party’s fifth-anniversary celebration in 2018.

In a split decision, Malema’s co-accused and former bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, was acquitted on all charges.

Snyman was facing charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Malema was on trial for allegedly discharging what the state insisted was a rifle into the air at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane during the EFF rally in July 2018. Throughout the trial, Malema maintained that the object was a toy gun or prop and not a real firearm.