Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma to Testify Before TRC Follow-Up Inquiry After Recusal Bid Fails
- The Constitutional Court dismissed a final appeal by both former presidents to remove Justice Sisi Khampepe as chairperson of the inquiry
- Thabo Mbeki is scheduled to appear on 19 and 20 October, with Jacob Zuma set to testify on 22 October
- The inquiry examines why hundreds of apartheid-era criminal cases identified by the original TRC were never prosecuted
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SOUTH AFRICA — Former heads of state Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma will testify before a judicial inquiry into post-TRC apartheid-era prosecutions after their bid to remove the presiding judge was rejected by the country's highest court.
eNCA reported that the Constitutional Court dismissed the pair's final appeal at the end of August, exhausting all legal avenues available to them. The ruling clears the path for Justice Sisi Khampepe to continue chairing the inquiry, which both former heads of state had sought to prevent through recusal proceedings.
Testimony dates confirmed
Mbeki is scheduled to appear before Justice Sisi Khampepe on 19 and 20 October. Zuma will follow with his testimony on 22 October. The two former leaders had previously challenged Khampepe's position as chairperson on the grounds that she should step aside, but those efforts have now been formally exhausted.
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Why the Inquiry was established
The judicial inquiry was set up following sustained pressure from the Calata Group, an organisation that represents families and survivors of gross human rights violations committed during the apartheid era. The group has long sought answers regarding the fate of hundreds of criminal cases that the original Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified and referred to state prosecutors for further action.
Despite those referrals, the cases were never thoroughly investigated or brought to trial in the years and decades that followed. The inquiry's central task is to determine whether political interference played a role in those decisions, and testimony from Mbeki and Zuma, who both served as president during the relevant period, is considered critical to that process.
Constitutional Court dismisses ATM's Phala Phala appeal
In a related article, Briefly News reported on the Constitutional Court’s decision to dismiss the African Transformation Movement’s urgent appeal over President Cyril Ramaphosa’s impeachment proceedings. The court said an upcoming Western Cape High Court ruling could resolve the dispute.
The case concerns a temporary order that halted the Section 89 committee’s inquiry into the Phala Phala farm theft scandal. That inquiry will remain paused while Ramaphosa’s review of the independent panel report proceeds.
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Source: Briefly News
