There have been several interesting accounts of what exactly the object Julius Malema held on a stage in Mdatsane in 2018 in the Eastern Cape was. He himself has changed his story several times. It was although a real assault rifle, a real firearm and with real ammunition.
Here are the reasons why I believe the object Julius Malema discharged was a real firearm, also see the video below.
- Muzzle flash: Muzzle flash is clear on the video of Julius Malema discharging a firearm that was made public. Muzzle flash can only occur when a detonator ignites gunpowder in the cartridge to then discharge the projectile with high pressure.
- Recoil: The video clearly shows that the firearm causes recoil with every shot that was fired. It is clear that Julius Malema must hold on with both hands to compensate recoil. If it was a toy gun/another object that didn’t discharge real ammo,it would not have caused recoil.
- Handling of the firearm: The firearm Julius Malema used to discharge the shots was handled with extreme caution during the presentation and recovery thereof by Adriaan Snyman, Malema’s Head of Security during the event. He would not have handled a toy gun in this manner.
- Gunshot sound: The sound and buzzing of the shots that are clearly audible in the video byte disprove many of Julius Malema’s excuses that it wasn’t a real firearm or ammunition that was discharged, according to several experts that were consulted.
- Accounts: Julius Malema and the EFF have continuously adjusted their accounts since the incident. It was initially alleged that blanks were used. Experts that were consulted describe this as unlikely seeing as the necessary accessories to discharge the firearm in this manner were lacking and the firearm didn’t react in the way it would have had the firearm discharged these blanks.
- The EFF later stated that it wasn’t a real firearm, but a toy gun that was used in synchronisation with fireworks to create the realistic effect. The experts also reject this account due to the reasons mentioned above.
- Julius Malema’s Head of Security handled and presented the firearm: Snyman that presented the firearm to Malema and also collected it again. Snyman’s security company is well known for owning similar firearms.
- Snyman has also in the past made himself guilty of the inappropriate carrying of these types of weapons during one of Malema’s court appearances. This incident caused a major uproar and it demonstrates Snyman’s apparent careless attitude with regard to these weapons.
By Ian Cameron
Ian Cameron Action Society’s community safety director and the founder of firearms.co.za.
