Justice Sisi Khampepe has dismissed applications by former heads of state Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki, which sought her recusal as chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into alleged efforts to stop the investigation or prosecution of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases.
In a ruling delivered in January 2026, Justice Khampepe found that neither former president had established actual bias or a reasonable apprehension of bias. She also found that both had delayed unreasonably in bringing their applications.
“The applications for my recusal must therefore fail. Both applicants have delayed unreasonably and failed to provide proper explanations for their delays. And such delays demonstrate that their apprehension of bias is not reasonable,” Khampepe ruled.
Allegations of bias rejected
Zuma was represented by his legal team led by advocate Dali Mpofu SC. He alleged that Khampepe was biased because of her previous roles as a member of the TRC Amnesty Committee and as a deputy national director of public prosecutions, as well as her authorship of past judgements involving him, including the Constitutional Court judgement that resulted in his imprisonment in 2021.
Khampepe rejected these claims. She stated that dissatisfaction with previous judgements does not amount to bias.
“Judges often hear different matters relating to the same applicant without that providing a justifiable basis for recusal,” she said.
She also dismissed Zuma’s allegations that she had engaged in secret communications with the commission’s chief evidence leader, finding that no evidence had been produced to support the claim.
“There is no factual basis upon which an objective conclusion could be drawn about bias,” she ruled.
Mbeki’s application, which relied on similar grounds relating to Khampepe’s prior institutional roles and her procedural rulings during the commission’s work, was also dismissed.
Prior institutional roles ruled out
She found that prior institutional roles do not give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias. Particularly where those roles ended years before the period under investigation by the commission.
Khampepe highlighted that the facts relied upon by both applicants had been publicly known for decades. Yet the applications were only filed during the commission’s extended term. This was after its work was already under way.
She found this delay unexplained and unreasonable, due to the time-bound nature of the commission.
“The time-bound nature of the work of this commission and the various interests involved dictate that the work of this commission must continue in an uninterrupted fashion,” Khampepe said.
She concluded that allowing the recusal applications would undermine the proper administration of justice and further delay the commission’s work.
Both applications were accordingly dismissed. And the commission will continue with its mandate.
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