Julius Malema faces prosecution for ‘child rapist’ claim in Cwecwe case

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has succeeded in persuading the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute EFF leader Julius Malema for crimen injuria after he allegedly branded former Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse a “serial child rapist”.

The decision follows representations made by the unit on Pieterse’s behalf after a criminal complaint against Malema was lodged at Sophiatown Police Station in June 2025.

AfriForum communications manager Barry Bateman said the prosecution was an important development in the case.

The decision confirms that no one is above the law and that political status does not provide protection against criminal prosecution.

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.

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

The assessment included an interview with the child and a medical examination. According to the NPA, these did not produce conclusive evidence of rape or sexual assault.

Prosecutors in the DPP’s office reconsidered the matter and upheld the original decision not to prosecute. The outcome was communicated to police, and the docket was returned to investigators.

Similar criminal complaints were also lodged against Fikile Mbalula, Secretary-General of the ANC, and Fundile Gade, MEC for Education in the Eastern Cape, for making the same false allegation.