Leading South African opposition politician Julius Malema, 45, has been sentenced to five years after being found guilty of the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public.

But Magistrate Twanet Olivier allowed the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters and MP to appeal against the verdict and sentencing, meaning that he will not immediately be taken to prison.

Earlier, standing in court in a dark suit and red tie, Malema showed little emotion as Olivier read out the sentence even though his political future was at stake.

Last year, he was convicted of five offences, including the unlawful possession of a firearm, discharging it in public and reckless endangerment.

Malema was able to leave court and greet his supporters as the appeal process has now begun

The charges related to an incident in 2018 when a video emerged showing Malema using a semi-automatic rifle to fire several shots in the air during his party's fifth anniversary celebrations held in the country's Eastern Cape province.

During the trial in KuGompo City, which is the new name for East London, Malema told the court that the firearm was not his and that he had fired the shots to rouse the crowd, South African news site SowetanLIVE reported at the time.

But during her sentencing ruling Olivier said "it wasn't... an impulsive act. It was the event of the evening," the AFP news agency reports.

She added that while his political standing had no bearing on her findings, he was someone who had a large following in South Africa and should account for his actions.

Addressing some of those followers outside court, he made a series of unsubstantiated allegations against Olivier and said, without offering direct evidence, that the conviction and sentencing were a result of a conspiracy.

Malema has a long reputation as being an outspoken, charismatic and radical left-wing politician and has a loyal band of supporters.

Hundreds had come to back Malema with chants and revolutionary songs.

When news came through that he would be allowed to appeal, they started calling out in the Xhosa language "sigoduka naye", which translates as "we are leaving with him today".

Malema's party supporters have been out in force to show their solidarity

Malema was once the leader of the youth wing of the governing African National Congress. But after being expelled from the party, following a falling-out with then President Jacob Zuma, he went on to form the EFF.

With Malema's calls for the seizure of white-owned land and arguments that more should be done to transfer wealth to the black majority, the EFF ate away at the ANC share of the vote. It became the country's fourth largest party at the 2024 elections.

After being found guilty last October, Malema was quoted as telling those outside the court that "going to prison or death is a badge of honour".

"We cannot be scared of prison [or] to die for the revolution. Whatever they want to do, they must know we will never retreat."

He also vowed to take a challenge to the judgment up to South Africa's highest court, the Constitutional Court.

Malema's prosecution came when Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, which has a contentious relationship with him and the EFF, opened a case against Malema after the video went viral.

AfriForum also had a role in another conviction against the politician.

Last August, he was found guilty of hate speech by the equality court, following remarks he made at a rally in 2022.

After an incident where a white man allegedly assaulted an EFF member, Malema said: "No white man is going to beat me up... you must never be scared to kill. A revolution demands that at some point there must be killing."

The equality court ruled that these remarks "demonstrated an intent to incite harm", but the EFF said they were taken out of context.

Additional reporting by Nobuhle Simelane