By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Retired Justice Sisi Khampepe has dismissed the application to recuse the chief evidence leader in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) inquiry SC Ishmael Semenya.
The application was brought by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Both parties believe Semenya’s involvement in the NPA policy formulation, which is at the centre of the commission’s hearings, will have adverse findings.
Justice Khampepe ruled against the application, saying the applicants failed to prove that Semenya’s prior work has the potential to prejudice the work of the current commission.
“For the reasons described, the commission finds that the applicants failed to discharge the requisite burden of proof by applying an incorrect legal test and by failing to establish the necessary factual evidence. The recusal applicants must, therefore, be dismissed, for the reasons set out in the ruling,” Khampepe ruled.
The commission was established in May 2025 as part of a settlement agreement in a court case brought by families of people who were victims of crimes committed during apartheid.
The commission is chaired by Khampepe. She is assisted by retired Northern Cape Judge President Frans Diale Kgomo and Adv. Andrea Gabriel SC.
Fullview reported that the commission has written to presidency to request an extension amid delays.
According to the proclamation notice 302 of 2025, the TRC Cases Inquiry must conclude its work by Friday, May 29, 2026, and submit its report to the president within 60 days after the date on which it completes its work.
Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma has entered the TRC Cases Inquiry fray.
Zuma, through his lawyers, KMNS Attorneys, accused Justice Khampepe of abdicating her duties and independence after she allegedly allowed certain transgressions.
“Inter alia, she has aided and abetted Adv Semenya in dealing with the alleged conflict of interest on his part and turned a blind eye to his undue participation in engagements with witnesses in relation to the subject matter of his alleged conflict of interest and in breach of the directive of the chairperson herself dated 19 September 2025.
“In so doing, she has made herself directly and/or indirectly guilty of unconstitutional conduct or judicial misconduct, and the recent ruling is therefore tainted,” the lawyers said.
However, Zuma was found guilty of contempt of court for disobeying the ConCourt to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
Then acting chief justice Khampepe delivered a decisive defence of the rule of law, sentenced Zuma to 15-month term of imprisonment.
The TRC, established 30 years ago as part of South Africa’s restorative justice process, aimed to unite victims and perpetrators of apartheid crimes through truth, accountability, and forgiveness.