The ANC’s step-aside rule has come back to haunt the party after detractors of Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula called for him to step aside after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced on Monday that it would charge him alongside EFF leader Julius Malema for crimen injuria.
The charges relate to a private prosecution brought by AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, which is prosecuting Mbalula and Malema for allegedly branding a career teacher a child rapist.
AfriForum’s spokesperson Barry Bateman said both men have been quick to use the courts when falsely accused themselves.
“Every time Fikile Mbalula has been publicly accused of involvement in the murder of Wandile Bozwana, he has turned to the courts to interdict his accusers. In a judgment last year, Mbalula argued that being falsely accused caused ongoing harm to his reputation and dignity, resulting in anxiety, humiliation and embarrassment,” Bateman said in a statement on 21 September 2026.
“Mbalula therefore fully understands the harm caused by falsely accusing someone of committing a crime. He must realise that publicly branding a career teacher a child rapist and an animal, without a shred of evidence to support such a claim, fundamentally violates that teacher’s right to dignity. AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit believes a criminal court will agree, convict him accordingly, and send a clear message that there are consequences for politicians who use their public platforms to spread lies with scant regard for the consequences,” he said.
The announcement has triggered renewed factional debate inside Luthuli House, with opponents arguing Mbalula must now apply to himself the rule he has been at the forefront of enforcing.
But Mbalula’s camp has pushed back, arguing the charge does not trigger the rule.
Insiders close to the Secretary-General say crimen injuria is not a serious criminal offence as contemplated by the ANC’s step-aside guidelines, which were designed to deal with corruption, fraud, murder and other serious crimes that bring the party into disrepute.
They argue it is a private prosecution arising from political speech, not state capture or looting, and therefore does not meet the threshold.
The step-aside rule requires ANC members who are formally charged with serious criminal offences to temporarily step aside from their positions within the organisation and, where applicable, from public leadership roles until their legal matters are resolved.
Adopted at the 54th National Conference in 2017 and reaffirmed at the 55th National Conference in 2022, the rule forms part of the ANC’s renewal programme.
The resolution states that “the ANC cannot as the governing party ask for the trust of the people, while deploying people charged with serious crimes.”
Stepping aside is not a finding of guilt. The party insists members remain presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The policy is described as an organisational measure to protect the credibility of the movement.
Voluntary compliance is encouraged as a sign of “political maturity”, and the circumstances of those who have stepped aside must be reviewed every six months.
The rule’s implementation has been fiercely contested and uneven, fuelling accusations of favoritism.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu and Mbalula did not respond to texts sent to him on Tuesday.
Its most high-profile casualty was former Secretary-General Ace Magashule, who was forced to step aside in 2021 after being charged with corruption, money laundering and fraud related to the R255-million Free State asbestos project.
Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede also stepped aside after facing over 2,000 counts of fraud and corruption linked to a R430-million waste tender.
More recently, former minister Malusi Gigaba was commended by the ANC and its Youth League in November 2025 for voluntarily stepping aside after being charged with corruption relating to the multi-billion rand Transnet locomotives tender.
“The rule does say that when you are formally charged that is when you must officially step aside,” ANCYL spokesperson Zama Khanyase said at the time.
But critics point to a long list of leaders who have not been forced to step aside.
In the Eastern Cape, former ANC Nelson Mandela Bay regional secretary Luyolo Nqakula accused the party of double standards, saying he was forced to step aside in 2022 over a R24-million Covid-19 emergency toilet project, while King Sabata Dalindyebo Executive Mayor Nyaniso Nelani remained in office despite being criminally charged.
Nelani only later recused himself.
Similarly, Chris Hani District Municipality mayor and ANC regional chair Lusanda Sizani faced a recommendation from the provincial Integrity Commission to step aside over a Firearms Control Act charge after his pistol was stolen in March 2025, but the Provincial Executive Committee voted against enforcing it.
Sizani himself called the recommendation “opportunistic manipulation” ahead of the provincial conference.
Former President Thabo Mbeki has argued the rule should be even broader, while other ANC insiders have noted that President Cyril Ramaphosa himself has not stepped aside over the Phala Phala investigation.