Overview
- Counsel for Jacob Zuma argued Khampepe’s refusal to recuse herself is unlawful because it was not a collective decision of the commission’s panel.
- Zuma’s team asked the court to compel disclosure of emails and WhatsApp messages between Khampepe and chief evidence leader Ismael Semenya to support allegations of improper collusion, which Khampepe has not conceded.
- Thabo Mbeki’s advocate said Khampepe’s prior roles on the TRC Amnesty Committee and as Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions create a reasonable apprehension of bias and were not fully disclosed.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa told the court he asked Khampepe to step down through the Justice Minister after learning of her past roles, and the Presidency says the commission will resume substantive work after the ruling.
- Families of apartheid-era victims accused Mbeki and Zuma of stalling prosecutions and implicated Ramaphosa, noting they have taken the state to court 23 times, as 25 families participate in the inquiry.