Criminal charges have been laid against Fikile Mbalula, ANC Secretary General, Julius Malema, Commander-in-Chief of the EFF and Fundile Gade, Eastern Cape MEC for Education, for remarks made about a school principal.
Jaco Pieterse, principal of Bergview College in Matatiele, had been accused by the three of raping a seven-year-old child in October 2024. The details of the alleged rape were contested, and the National Prosecuting Authority had cleared him.
However, during the controversy, he had been attacked as though his guilt was a fact, including by prominent political figures.
Pieterse was supported in the case by Afriforum, which continues to do so in the current case.
Afriforum spokesman, Barry Bateman, remarked: “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. This is why we are pursuing these charges.”
He noted that Mbalula had attacked Afriforum over the matter, asking how it could defend “an animal who rapes children.”