Malema warned of arrest if he misses May court case

A South African court has issued an arrest warrant for firebrand opposition politician Julius Malema after failing to appear on charges of unlawfully firing a weapon at a rally in 2018.

But the warrant has been suspended until his next scheduled appearance on 8 May, Eyewitness News reports.

A spokesman for the prosecuting authority said Mr Malema had not appeared in court as part of a prior arrangement, and the warrant had been issued only because it was "standard practice" to do so in such a situation.

Mr Malema was due to have appeared in a magistrate's court in the coastal city of East London to face five charges related to the alleged shooting in 2018, News24 reports.

His party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), previously said that their leader had fired a toy rifle meant to coincide with fireworks at the rally.

EL magistrates court issues a warrant of arrest for Malema for failing to appear in court.

— Aldrin Sampear (@AldrinSampear) February 24, 2020