KEY POINTS
- AfriForum asks Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to apologize for his slanderous accusations against the Bergview College principal.
- The lobby group contends that Mchunu alongside others accepted false information that resulted in injuries to both the principal and his community.
- Providing no action from the NPA AfriForum threatens to file private charges against those responsible for circulating false information.
The rape incident involving a seven-year-old girl in Matatiele has received significant attention because it implicates the Bergview College principal.
AfriForum serves as a prominent lobbying organization which defended the principal by asking Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to offer an apology regarding the baseless charges and harmful statements leveled against him.
AfriForum’s stance on the Bergview case
AfriForum launched criticism against Mchunu for failing to speak out for one week as terrible accusations against the principal circulated throughout the media before ending in a press release accusing the educator.
A lobby group stated that the police minister’s comments contributed to the wide distribution of damaging statements published across different media platforms and social media channels. According to AfriForum the principal experienced public disgrace from fabricated allegations that he hindered the police inquiry on the Bergview case.
Gerrie Nel who leads AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit highlighted the severity of this wrongful damage to the principal. He stressed that legal proceedings should be safeguarded from both improper social media speculation.
The record-maintaining negligence of police authorities worsened the damage suffered by both the principal and his community as identified by AfriForum.
Calls for accountability and private prosecution
AfriForum has identified MEC Fundile Gade of Eastern Cape Education along with ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and potential targets for prosecution with Chief Director of Education Siva Mchunu and Julius Malema who heads the Economic Freedom Fighters.
The group will file private criminal charges because the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) did not take action on these specific cases.
Nel denounced the police for their failure to stop the crime as well as their insufficient investigation efforts because these actions together with incorrect information harmed both Bergview College’s principal and their educational community.
He stated that false news spread through disinformation created unnecessary harm which threatened both the reputation and safety of the innocent man.
