Johannesburg – AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit says it will continue its legal pursuit of the Eastern Cape Education MEC Fundile Gade for “falsely accusing” Jaco Pieterse, former principal of Bergview College, of rape of a learner.
Commenting on the matter on Friday, 28 November 2025, after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute Gade, AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit said it will “send a strong message that there will be consequences for falsely accusing people of committing crimes”.
AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit stated that the politician faces charges of crimen injuria, intimidation, and contravention of the Cybercrimes Act after falsely claiming publicly that the then principal, Pieterse, was identified as a suspect in the rape of a minor.
However, earlier this month, on 5 November, the NPA informed AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit that it would not be pursuing the case against Gade.
The office of the Eastern Cape Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, which declined to prosecute Gade, stated in correspondence that if the unit was dissatisfied with the decision, it may file a complaint with the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).
In response, Advocate Gerrie Nel, head of the Private Prosecution Unit, stated that the unit will not take up the offer.
“Your advice to approach the Office of the NDPP if we are dissatisfied with your decision has been noted,” wrote Advocate Nel.
“However, we view this decision as so irrational that we have advised our client to apply for a nolle prosequi certificate to prosecute the matter privately, once we have taken cognisance of the contents of the SAPS docket.”
Advocate Nel said it appears that the prosecutor who made the decision has not watched Gade’s interview.
“We remain overwhelmingly confident that Mr. Gade clearly and unambiguously referred to our client as a suspect in the rape of a minor – a patently false public claim, as he was certainly not a suspect in such an alleged offence.
“The irrationality of this decision is remarkable,” he said.
Barry Bateman, spokesperson for AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, said that since Pieterse filed the criminal complaints, additional information has emerged that strengthens the cases against Gade, Mbalula, and Malema.
“In the months since Pieterse filed the criminal complaints, the police and justice ministries have told Parliament that the SAPS submitted a fully investigated case docket on 4 August 2025, and that the NPA declined to prosecute due to insufficient evidence,” Bateman said.
“In several responses to questions from MPs, the authorities confirmed that when the mother reported the case to the police in October 2024, the child was taken through all the necessary processes at the Thuthuzela care centre and was seen by at least three social workers.
“Importantly, the NPA has now confirmed that the child maintained that she was constipated, and not raped or sexually assaulted, and there was no evidence that the child had been penetrated.
“In fact, the police never identified any person as a suspect because there was no evidence to support the claim that the child had been raped.
“AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit will send a strong message that there will be consequences for falsely accusing people of committing crimes.”
Bateman said the AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit was still studying the docket.
He said the AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit will submit a formal application for a nolle prosequi certificate in due course.
AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit stated that Pieterse was the target of a vicious and sustained smear campaign that violated his dignity, harmed his reputation, forced him and his family into hiding due to death threats, and ultimately cost him and his wife their jobs.
The campaign followed claims by a mother that her daughter was raped at the school in Matatiele, Eastern Cape, in October last year.
The South African Police Service never regarded Pieterse as a suspect.
“Even though the case was investigated and the NPA declined to prosecute in November last year because there was no evidence to support the allegation, a social media campaign eventually caught media attention in March this year and fuelled the flames of disinformation, primarily targeting Pieterse,” said AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit.
“Amid the social media outrage, Gade made the decision to deregister the school and made the offensive remarks about Pieterse on 30 March during a live interview on Newzroom Africa.”
In June this year, AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit supported Pieterse when he filed criminal complaints against Gade, Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, and African National Congress Secretary General Fikile Mbalula.
The NPA has not confirmed their decision on the latter two cases.
