Julius Malema and Fikile Mbalula served with summonses to appear in court

Julius Malema and Fikile Mbalula were served with summonses to appear in court, but the summonses are now held in abeyance.

They are held in abeyance pending a review of the decision by the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Andy Mothibi.

This was revealed by AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit in a press statement regarding the matter on Saturday, 24 October 2026.

AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit spokesperson, Barry Bateman, said that they had received correspondence from a Gauteng Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Deputy Director informed them that Fikile Mbalula was served with a summons to appear in court on 27 October 2026.

However, this is being held in abeyance pending a review of the decision by the National Director of Public Prosecutions.

Julius Malema was also served with a summons to appear in court, but on 26 October 2026, a day before Mbalula.

Similarly, this is being held in abeyance pending the National Director of Public Prosecutions’ review of the decision to prosecute him.

Mbalula and Malema face charges of crimen injuria for falsely branding school principal Jaco Pieterse a child rapist. The NPA recently confirmed its decision to prosecute them.

In relation to Mbalula, this development follows the Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Andrew Chauke, rejecting the suspect’s representations.

“His office holds the view that a prima facie case exists against Mbalula and that the matter should be enrolled for adjudication before a competent court,” Bateman said.

Chauke further rejected Mbalula’s allegation that the case was politically motivated, saying that his office had thoroughly studied the criminal case docket.

“He based his decision on legal principles and facts. He stated that there was no political influence or motivation attached to the decision,” Bateman said.

He added that AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has confidence in Chauke and applauds his steadfast position that Mbalula has a case to answer.

“The unit hopes that Mothibi will also see the suspect’s representations as a frivolous attempt to evade his day in court,” he said.

“The unit is also confident that Malema will eventually have his day in court to answer for the false and vile claims made about Pieterse.”