The African National Congress (ANC) has denounced AfriForum as a racist organization, questioning the lobby group's role in announcing the prosecution of ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula. Mbalula faces a charge of crimen injuria over remarks he made about former Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse in April last year. The ANC national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, stated that it was irregular and potentially corrupt for AfriForum to be the first to convey a decision by an institution of State charged with independently managing aspects of the country's criminal justice system.
The remarks made by Mbalula followed claims that a seven-year-old girl had been raped at the school in Matatiele, Eastern Cape, in 2024. However, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute anyone over the alleged rape in May last year, citing a lack of evidence. The ANC stated that neither it nor Mbalula had been told of any decision to prosecute by the police or the NPA. Bhengu accused AfriForum of having a "blinding obsession" with Mbalula, bordering on harassment and targeted political activity through the abuse of State institutions.
The ANC also took issue with the term "ja baas," which AfriForum is accused of longing for, a term that symbolizes the subservient role imposed on Black people under white rule and apartheid. Bhengu stated that the country where black people were expected to bow their heads and answer "ja baas" is gone, and the ANC will never allow it to return. The party emphasized that Mbalula had been delivering the ANC's official statement on gender-based violence and femicide, and that the statement named no one as a suspect.
AfriForum's private prosecution unit, headed by Adv Gerrie Nel, announced that Gauteng director of public prosecutions Andrew Chauke had agreed to prosecute Mbalula. The decision followed representations made to Chauke on August 13, arguing that the earlier decision not to prosecute was irrational. NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago confirmed the decision last week. AfriForum stated that Pieterse had never been a suspect and that Mbalula had called him an animal and accused the lobby group of defending one.
Pieterse, backed by AfriForum's private prosecution unit, also laid complaints against EFF leader Julius Malema and Eastern Cape education MEC Fundile Gade. The NPA decided in August to prosecute Malema on the same charge. The ANC stated that Mbalula would deal with the matter through the courts. The party also pointed out that this was not the first time AfriForum had pursued Mbalula, having previously called for him to be prosecuted over his family's R680,000 Dubai holiday in 2016.
The NPA had decided in 2023 not to prosecute Mbalula in the matter of the Dubai holiday. The ANC emphasized that independent prosecutors had previously considered the complaint against Mbalula and declined to prosecute, and that the matter was revived following representations from AfriForum. The party questioned AfriForum's motives and accused it of using State institutions for targeted political activity.
The prosecution of Mbalula has sparked a heated debate about the role of AfriForum and the use of State institutions for political purposes. The ANC's criticism of AfriForum as a racist organization has added fuel to the fire. As the matter unfolds in the courts, it remains to be seen how the prosecution will impact the ANC and AfriForum.
Key points
- The ANC has branded AfriForum a racist organisation.
- Mbalula faces a charge of crimen injuria over remarks he made about former Bergview College principal Jaco Pieterse.
- The NPA had previously declined to prosecute Mbalula, but the decision was revived following representations from AfriForum.
