The ANC has come to the defense of its Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, after Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse filed criminal charges against him. 

Pieterse, represented by AfriForum’s Private Prosecuting Unit, alleges that Mbalula, along with EFF leader Julius Malema and Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade, violated his dignity by falsely accusing him of raping a child.

Pieterse claims the trio publicly accused him of raping a 7-year-old girl, known as Cwecwe, after her mother suspected that she was raped, however medical reports had since found that there were no traces of sexual assault.

However, the ANC has slammed AfriForum’s decision to pursue the matter, calling it “disingenuous, ideologically driven, and flawed.” 

The party maintains that defending outrage against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBV-F) is not a crime.

“We will not apologise for speaking out in defence of the voiceless,” ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu wrote in a statement.

 “We call on all progressive forces, including our Alliance partners, the ANC Women’s League, youth formations, religious and community organisations, to reject any effort to criminalise outrage and moral clarity in the face of GBV-F,” Bhengu added.

The party has reaffirmed its support for Mbalula, saying he carried the voice of millions when he condemned the rape of a seven-year-old girl at Bergview College. 

“We urge all to act with vigilance against those who exploit the justice system for ideological ends and threaten prosecution against those who defend what is right,” the party said.

EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo had not provided a response on charges being laid against Malema.

Pieterse filed charges of crimen-injuria and intimidation at the Sophiatown police station in Gauteng against Mbalula, Malema, and Gade while Mbalula and Malema face additional charges of violating the Cybercrime and Intimidation Acts.

In his affidavit, Pieterse asks that the rape docket be included as the first exhibit in his cases, citing the scope and extent of the lies told about him. 

“The consequences of the reckless and malicious statements made against me have had an irreversible and devastating impact on every aspect of my life,” he said

Spokesperson for AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, Barry Bateman, said the politicians’ comments were unjust and violated Pieterse’s dignity. 

“Pieterse was publicly labelled a paedophile, a label that in society’s eyes is among the most irredeemable and damning,” Bateman said.

“South Africa has a rape crisis, we have a child abuse crisis, and being falsely accused of committing such a crime against a child is devastating,” Bateman said.

“This is why we are pursuing these charges.”

Bateman also criticised Mbalula, who he said had referred to Pieterse as “an animal,” questioning how AfriForum could defend “an animal who rapes children”.

“This is simply unacceptable. There must be consequences for people who falsely accuse others in the public domain,” he said.

Bateman added that both Malema and Mbalula have approached the courts in recent years because they felt their dignity had been harmed. 

“Malema claimed that accusations of illegal dealings and accepting cocaine from drug dealers had left him feeling ‘degraded and humiliated’ while Mbalula’s court case involved accusations of corruption, which the court found had caused him and his family “actual injury”,” Bateman said.

Cwecwe, whose case was widely supported nationally, was raped last October at a private school in Matatiele.

Last month the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) stopped pursuing the case saying they did not hold enough evidence.

According to NPA national spokesperson Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga, the case docket was first reportedly submitted in November 2024 to prosecutors at the Matatiele Magistrate’s Court and the Matatiele Thuthuzela Care Centre.

After interviewing the child and conducting a medical examination, prosecutors reportedly determined that the evidence was inconclusive and did not support prosecution. 

This was later upheld by the Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions after further review.

mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za

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