Julius Malema to face criminal prosecution for falsely accusing Bergview principal of rape

Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, will face criminal prosecution after falsely accusing a school principal of rape.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has succeeded in convincing the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) that Malema should be prosecuted for crimen injuria after branding Jaco Pieterse, former Principal of Bergview College in Matatiele, a serial child rapist.

With the support of the unit, Pieterse laid the criminal complaint at the Sophiatown Police Station in June last year. When a decision to prosecute Malema was not forthcoming, the unit made the representation to the NPA.

The complaint against Malema stems from statements he made on 6 April 2025 at the party’s Land Reclamation Day at the Sophiatown Extreme Park in Johannesburg. At this event, Malema publicly claimed that a school principal raped a seven-year-old girl and alleged that the principal was being treated differently from other suspects.

Malema also suggested that the principal may have committed similar offences in the past.

The case involves a child who, according to her mother’s allegations, was raped at Bergview College in October 2024.

Pieterse and the school caretaker – whom the unit also represents – became the targets of a vicious social media campaign in November of that year after the NPA declined to prosecute the case due to a lack of evidence.

In May of last year, the NPA confirmed that it had decided not to prosecute anyone in connection with the alleged rape because, according to the NPA’s spokesperson, “there is no evidence of rape or sexual assault after the minor girl was interviewed and examined by medical practitioners and forensic social workers.”

Malema, in his own words, has demonstrated a full appreciation of the profound impact false allegations of criminal impropriety have on the dignity of a person – because he has experienced it himself and has asked the courts to intervene. Malema understands that being falsely branded a criminal violates the fundamental human right to dignity and argues that such a right is worthy of protection.

said Nel.

Malema’s lawyers said the claims subjected his children to ‘emotional harm and public scrutiny’, adding that Malema has been exposed to ‘ridicule, speculation, humiliation and reputational harm on a mass scale.’ The