AfriForum Secures Criminal Prosecution of Fikile Mbalula Over Bergview Principal Rape Remarks

• AfriForum's Private Prosecution Unit convinced the National Prosecuting Authority to prosecute Fikile Mbalula
• The African National Congress Secretary General is in hot water over his comments about the former Bergview College principal
• The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed in August 2026 that Julius Malema would also face prosecution

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

SOUTH AFRICA — Fikile Mbalula is set to face criminal prosecution for crimen injuria after publicly branding former Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse a child rapist.

Advocate Gerrie Nel from AfriForum's Private Prosecution Unit confirmed the news on 21 September 2026 during a special media briefing. The development makes Mbalula the second high-profile politician to be referred for prosecution over comments linked to the CweCwe rape case.

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In August 2026, the NPA confirmed that Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema would also face prosecution.

Why is Mbalula facing prosecution?

In April 2025, Mbalula addressed the media, making remarks about the alleged rape at Bergview College and criticising AfriForum for what he described as shielding suspects rather than standing for justice. He went further, describing Pieterse as an animal. At the time, AfriForum's Private Prosecution Unit publicly represented Pieterse.

The ANC's position was that Mbalula's comments were directed at gender-based violence broadly and did not specifically name Pieterse. In representations submitted to the NPA on 13 August 2026, unit head Advocate Gerrie Nel rejected that defence, arguing that the failure to name Pieterse explicitly was not decisive.

Nel wrote that the relevant question was whether the words, taken in full context and against all surrounding circumstances, were objectively understood to refer to him. Nel further noted that Pieterse had been publicly associated with the alleged rape of a seven-year-old child despite never having been a suspect, and that the NPA subsequently confirmed there was no evidence the child had been raped or sexually assaulted.

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Source: Briefly News