“EFF Colours Will Turn Orange”: Mzansi in Stitches After AI Clip Shows Julius Malema Behind Bars

• A Facebook account posted an AI clip imagining Malema behind bars, with Groenewald addressing him directly inside a prison facility
• Malema was sentenced to five years' direct imprisonment on 16 April 2026 and is currently appealing the sentence from outside prison
• Groenewald’s own party has already threatened to push for Malema’s removal from parliament if the appeal does not go his way

A Facebook page sent South Africa into a laughing frenzy with a well-timed AI-generated clip.

The video imagined EFF leader Julius Malema locked up inside a prison facility with Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald addressing him directly.

Lekkerbroe posted the clip on 17 April 2026, a day after Malema received a five-year direct imprisonment sentence. The sentence came down at the KuGompo City Regional Court in the Eastern Cape. Malema is currently out on warning while he fights the sentence on appeal.

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In the AI-generated, Groenewald tells the EFF commander-in-chief that inmates in there call him “papa.” Then he delivers the line that broke the internet, telling Malema he is waiting for him. The timing hit Mzansi right in the funny bone, and the internet did the rest.

Mzansi could not hold it together

What made it sting even more was the political layer underneath the joke. Groenewald’s own Freedom Front Plus has been among the loudest voices calling for Malema’s removal from parliament. The FF Plus has said publicly it will push for that removal if the appeal does not go Malema’s way. Groenewald’s department would be the one managing whichever facility receives Malema if the courts get the final word.

The case that got him here

The story started at Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane on 28 July 2018. Malema was on stage during the EFF’s fifth anniversary celebrations in front of roughly 20,000 supporters. He raised what appeared to be an assault rifle and fired it into the air. AfriForum opened a criminal case against him shortly after.

Malema told the court the weapon was a prop and not capable of firing live ammunition. Magistrate Twanet Olivier was not persuaded by that version at all. She found him guilty on five counts under the Firearms Control Act in October 2025. Olivier gave Malema five years of direct imprisonment instead.

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His legal team applied for leave to appeal. That application was granted, and Malema walked out of court on warning. The court denied him the right to appeal the conviction itself, only the sentence. He remains a free man for now, but the clock is ticking.

Watch the AI-generated Facebook clip here:

Mzansi reacts to the clip

Briefly News compiled some comments from the post below.

Joffre Papenfus said:

“They should send the entire parliament, provincial legislators and city councils to Robben Island.”

Allen Reyneke commented:

“I heard that once he's in prison, the EFF will be changing the colour of their party from red to orange.”

Ben Smit said:

“It doesn't take two men to bring him under control. He's only strong behind a microphone or between his supporters.”

Ibb Kev noted:

“He won't see the inside of a cell. Strings will be pulled for him to avoid all consequences.”

Shaun Fourie commented:

“Here we all think he will sit, he will pay someone to get out quickly, and even if he does sit, he will be treated like royalty in there. Guaranteed.”

More about Julius Malema

• Briefly News previously reported that Julius Malema has been handed a five-year direct prison sentence after being convicted over the public discharge of a firearm.
• Julius Malema was granted leave to appeal his five-year prison sentence, sparking scenes of jubilation outside the East London Magistrate’s Court.
• Oscar Mabuyane plans to sue Julius Malema for defamation after fresh allegations made outside court.

Source: Briefly News