Malema faces prosecution for crimen injuria over EC principal rape claims

EFF leader Julius Malema is set to face prosecution forcrimen injuriaafter the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) accepted representations by AfriForum’s private prosecution unit over his public claims that a former school principal raped a seven-year-old girl. In a letter dated June 18, the NPA’s Gauteng local division in Johannesburg confirmed that AfriForum’s representations had been successful. “Kindly note that your representations are successful and an instruction has been issued to the acting chief prosecutor, Ms Bezuidenhout, to institute prosecution in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court on a charge ofcrimen injuria,” the letter states.

A criminal complaint was opened by Jaco Pieterse, the former principal of Bergview College in Matatiele, Eastern Cape, after Malema allegedly publicly accused him of raping a seven-year-old girl, known publicly as Cwecwe. The NPA letter identifies the case as Sophiatown CAS 137/06/2025 and lists the complainant as Pieterse. AfriForum’s June 18 letter to the director of public prosecutions sought prosecution on charges including criminal defamation,crimen injuriaand possible contraventions of the Cybercrimes Act.

The NPA’s subsequent decision specifically confirms an instruction to prosecute Malema on a charge ofcrimen injuria. “The complaint against Malema stems from statements he made on April 6 2025 at the party’s land reclamation day at the Sophiatown Extreme Park in Johannesburg,” AfriForum said. “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.

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Malema also suggested that the principal may have committed similar offences in the past.” In its representations, AfriForum argued that Pieterse was never a suspect in the alleged rape. The letter states that the NPA had publicly confirmed that there was no evidence of rape and that SAPS had stated Pieterse was never a suspect. It also notes that then police minister Senzo Mchunu had apologised for previously referring to Pieterse as a suspect.

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