The ANC has come out in defense of troubled Secretary General (SG) Fikile Mbalula, who is the latest target of Afrikaner rights lobby group AfriForum.
The right-wing NGO on Wednesday morning announced its intention to pressure the NPA to charge Mbalula for corruption related to his famous Dubai trip.
AfriForum, which believes Mbalula’s trip was funded through corrupt means that were later covered up as a loan, vowed to pursue Mbalula through private prosecution if the NPA does not move.
‘Cement his legacy as a corruption buster’
AfriForum Private Prosecution Division Head Advocate Gerrie Nel said it was giving new NPA boss Andy Mothibi a chance to pounce on the ANC administration boss to cement his legacy as a corruption buster.
But Luthuli House has moved with speed, saying AfriForum aims to isolate Mbalula. Last Saturday, the SG organised a national march to defend South Africa’s sovereignty against USA imperialist aggression sponsored by AfriForum’s lies of a non-existent white genocide in the country.
‘Politically motivated smear campaign to isolate the SG’
“The African National Congress rejects with the contempt it deserves the so-called “Mbalula Dossier” released by AfriForum. This document is not a pursuit of justice, but a politically motivated smear campaign to isolate the Secretary General by a reactionary organisation that has long positioned itself as an enemy of transformation, nonracialism and the democratic will of the South African people,” reads the ANC statement.
“AfriForum has once again exposed its true character as an imperialist-aligned pressure group that routinely seeks intervention from foreign powers against a democratic sovereign nation and its citizens. Its call for the United States to impose punitive measures against a South African, who is a leader of the democratically elected governing party is not only reckless but also an affront and direct attack on our sovereignty. This is the conduct of an organisation that has abandoned any pretence of patriotism and has chosen instead to act as a proxy for external interests that are hostile to South Africa’s transformation agenda.
Mbalula decided against interdicting AfriForum media briefing
“It is no coincidence that this desperate offensive follows the resounding success of the People’s March in defence of sovereignty and democratic gains held on Human Rights Day. That mobilisation of the masses has shaken AfriForum and its backers and demonstrated that when the people rise to defend their rights and freedoms, counterrevolutionary forces always panic. This so-called dossier is a response to that panic, a clumsy attempt to shift the narrative and discredit the leadership of the ANC and its secretary general.”
Mbalula, who had initially threatened to interdict the AfriForum media briefing, issued a statement on Wednesday explaining why he had decided against the interdict.
He said he wanted to give AfriForum the freedom to unleash everything they have, which, upon studying the so-called dossier closely, he concluded that his decision not to go to court was in fact correct because there is nothing of substance.
“The highly anticipated media briefing conducted by AfriForum on the 25th of March, 2026, at 10h00 has confirmed my consistent assessment that the presentation was devoid of substantive merit, evidentiary value, or credibility; consequently and as previously iterated, the decision to forgo the interdict was a calculated and profound decision,” said Mbalula.
‘Regurgitation of old, recycled allegations’
“What South Africans witnessed was not a revelation, but a regurgitation of old, recycled allegations, many of which have already been ventilated in the public domain and subjected to scrutiny by competent authorities.
“It is therefore deeply ironic that AfriForum seeks intervention from a foreign government that has, on numerous occasions, been accused in international forums of undermining international law and acting unilaterally in global affairs,” he added.
“It is a matter of public record that the NPA has not proffered any charges against me. AfriForum’s interests remain confined to a minority race group that resists transformation and the principles of equality. Their record on historical justice is profoundly compromised. We recall that their CEO, Kallie Kriel, has previously argued against the classification of Apartheid as a crime against humanity.”
