MBALULA AND MALEMA DODGE COURT — NDPP PUTS SUMMONSES ON HOLD: IS JUSTICE FOR SALE IN SOUTH AFRICA?
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
JOHANNESBURG — Two of the most powerful politicians in South Africa were supposed to face court this week. Instead, both have been given a lifeline.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and EFF leader Julius Malema have been served with summonses to appear in court on crimen injuria charges — but the proceedings have been put on hold pending a review by National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi.
Summonsed on one day. Saved the next. That is the story.
According to AfriForum's Private Prosecution Unit, a Gauteng deputy director of public prosecutions confirmed that Mbalula had been served with a summons to appear in court on Tuesday. But that summons has now been held in abeyance — frozen — pending Mothibi's review of the decision to prosecute.
Malema's case is the same. AfriForum says it has learnt Malema was served with a summons to appear tomorrow. It has not yet received written confirmation from the NPA, but understands Malema's summons has also been put on hold pending the same review.
Two leaders. Two summonses. One hold. One man — Mothibi — now holds the fate of both cases in his hands.
What are the charges? Both men face crimen injuria charges for allegedly falsely describing a man, Pieterse, as a child rapist.
Let that sink in. This is not a small insult. This is not political banter. To falsely call a man a child rapist in public is to destroy his name, his family, his safety, his life. In a country ravaged by gender-based violence and child abuse, that label is a death sentence in the community.
That is why this case matters. That is why South Africans are watching.
And that is why the decision by Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions
Advocate Andrew Chauke matters even more.
Chauke had already rejected representations made by Mbalula's legal team. He informed them his office had thoroughly considered the criminal case docket and maintained that a prima facie case existed against Mbalula, warranting the matter being enrolled before a competent court.
In plain language: Chauke said there IS a case to answer. Chauke also rejected the claim that the prosecution was politically motivated, maintaining the decision was based on facts and legal principles, without political influence or motivation.
"He stated confidently that there was no political influence and/or motivation attached to the decision," said AfriForum Private Prosecution Unit spokesperson Barry Bateman.
AfriForum's unit said it had full confidence in Chauke and welcomed his position that Mbalula had a case to answer.
"The unit hopes that Adv. Mothibi will also see the suspect's representations as merely a frivolous attempt to evade his inevitable day in court. The unit is also confident that Malema will also eventually have his day in court to answer for the false and vile claims made about Pieterse," it said.
Now the question South Africa must ask: Why the hold?
If Chauke, the Gauteng DPP who studied the docket, says there is a prima facie case, why must Mothibi review it now, at the exact moment the summonses are served? Is this procedure, or is this protection?
South Africans have seen this movie before. Big men get summonses. Big men get reviews. Big men get delays. Small men get handcuffs on the same day.
Mbalula is the ANC's secretary-general — the engine room of the ruling party, weeks before local government elections. Malema is the leader of the EFF — the loudest opposition voice in Parliament. Both are untouchable in the eyes of many.
But the law must not have favourites. Crimen injuria does not care if you are SG or Commander-in-Chief. If you called an innocent man a child rapist, you must answer in court. Not in a boardroom. Not in a review. In court.
Pieterse deserves his day. South Africa deserves to see that no one is above the law.
Mothibi now has a choice: He can confirm Chauke's decision and let both men face court, or he can kill the cases and confirm what millions already believe — that in South Africa, there is one law for the powerful, and another for the poor.
The Azanian will be watching. The nation will be watching.
Summonsed is not convicted. But held in abeyance must not mean buried.
Mbalula. Malema. Court is waiting.
The Azanian — Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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