\n\t\tZuma and former president Thabo Mbeki each filed separate applications seeking Khampepe\u2019s recusal from chairing the commission of inquiry.\n\t<\/p>\n
Former president Jacob Zuma claims that emails show that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) inquiry chairperson, retired Justice Sisi Khampepe, \u201csecretly\u201d wrote to evidence leader Advocate Ishmael Semenya, advising him of research that would be helpful in responding to an application for his recusal, which she later dismissed.<\/p>\n
Khampepe commission<\/p>\n
Zuma and former president Thabo Mbeki filed separate applications for the recusal of Khampepe from chairing the commission of inquiry.<\/p>\n
Last year,\u00a0President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Justice Khampepe\u00a0<\/a>to chair a judicial commission of inquiry to determine whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.<\/p>\n This, after about 23 families sued him for R167 million in damages over extensive delays in prosecuting apartheid-era crimes recommended by the TRC.<\/p>\n Oral arguments will be heard on 16 January 2026, and the commission is set to commence on 27 January.<\/p>\n \u2018Alleged advice\u2019<\/p>\n In papers filed in this quest seeking Khampepe\u2019s recusal from chairing the commission of inquiry into allegations of attempts to stop the investigation or prosecution of more than 300 TRC cases linked to him, Zuma declined to produce the email, saying it would be made available at a later stage.<\/p>\n \u201cFor now, it is sufficient to reiterate that I maintain that the chairperson indeed gave the alleged advice in writing, and it will become available once the necessary discovery processes have been followed in the appropriate forums.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo be more specific, on 5 November 2025, the chairperson personally wrote to Advocate Semenya SC advising him of research which would be helpful to his case and proposed that he should share with Vas Soni SC, who was representing him in the Semenya recusal application, which was scheduled to be argued before the very same chairperson,\u201d Zuma said.<\/p>\n ALSO READ:\u00a0Caiphus Nyoka killers to spend Christmas in jail as state seeks life terms<\/a><\/p>\n Private email<\/p>\n Zuma claimed this correspondence was notably not sent from the official commission email but from the \u201cchairperson\u2019s private email address\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOn another occasion, the chairperson specifically advised Advocate Semenya to watch out for and\/or deal with paragraph 45 of the founding affidavit in the Semenya recusal application, which alleges that Semenya SC had violated a directive of the commission.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, if all of the above is denied, I invite the commission and\/or the respondent in the interests of transparency and openness to disclose to the public all the email and WhatsApp correspondence exchanged in the relevant period between the two individuals,\u201d Zuma said.<\/p>\n Zuma recusal application<\/p>\n In his recusal application<\/a>, Zuma raised an additional ground based on personal hostility reflected in Khampepe\u2019s prior judgments involving him, culminating in his detention without trial.<\/p>\n He argued that these circumstances reasonably give rise to an \u201capprehension of bias\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is correctly not disputed that millions of South Africans, including me, honestly share the view that the order for my imprisonment was malicious, vindictive and vengeful. The so-called July unrest is a tragic testament to that. That being the case, it cannot be contested that to hold that view, whether rightly or wrongly, is reasonable. That is the only requirement for recusal.<\/p>\n