By Des Erasmus
Senior advocates for Julius Malema secured only a partial court victory on Thursday after East London magistrate Twanet Olivier refused the EFF leader leave to appeal his conviction on firearm charges, but granted him leave to appeal the five-year prison sentence imposed earlier in the day.
“With regards to the … conviction, this court abides by its decision, as stated on record. This court has not had a change of heart and clearly stands firm on its decision to convict. Therefore, leave to appeal in respect of conviction is not granted,” Olivier said.
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She reached a different conclusion on sentence after hearing arguments, saying there was “always a possibility that another court may come to a different conclusion regarding sentence”.
Leave to appeal the sentence was accordingly granted.
Explaining how she dealt with the applications, Olivier said that
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