FHR: Khampepe ruling will allow TRC Commission to continue ‘critical work’
The High Court dismissed a bid to remove Justice Sisi Khampepe from the TRC Cases Inquiry, allowing proceedings to continue, while the Zuma Foundation considers legal action over the ruling.
The Foundation for Human Rights has welcomed the dismissal of an application to remove retired Justice Sisi Khampepe as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases Commission of Inquiry.
The foundation said the judgment will allow the commission to continue its critical work, pending any further legal steps that may be taken by former presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki.
“As the commission proceeds with its hearings, we urge all parties, institutions, and individuals to cooperate fully to ensure that the truth is uncovered and that the systemic failures to investigate and prosecute apartheid-era political crimes are fully exposed,” it added in a statement.
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Meanwhile, the Jacob Zuma Foundation said it will consider all available legal avenues after the High Court in Johannesburg dismissed its application against Khampepe on Monday.
In the ruling, the court found the applicants failed to comply with procedural requirements under the Superior Courts Act.
Khampepe previously dismissed the recusal application, brought against her by both Mbeki and Zuma, in which they alleged that she is biased due to her role in the TRC hearings and her history as deputy director of public prosecutions.
"We are currently studying it in detail, together with our legal team, to determine the appropriate course of action," said Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi.
"We wish to place on record our strong disagreement with the judgment. In our view, the Court has avoided the substantive merits of the recusal application and instead relied on a technicality: namely, that the two former Presidents did not obtain the requisite consent to institute the application."
He added that the court's approach leaves serious allegations of gross judicial misconduct and possible criminality entirely unaddressed.
Manyi said they are yet to be furnished with the full judgment.
"Equally concerning is the fact that the parties have, to date, not been furnished with a copy of the dissenting judgment of Justice Modiba."
"The absence of this judgment significantly hampers our ability to conduct meaningful consultations and to fully assess the legal position," Manyi lamented.
