Khampepe Commission to resume in two weeks as NPA and Justice Department seek recusal of evidence leader 

Posted on November 10, 2025
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Khampepe Commission to resume in two weeks as NPA and Justice Department seek recusal of evidence leader 

Mapaballo Borotho

Justice Sisi Khampepe
Image @Kaya News
  • The Khampepe Commission will resume in two weeks after being postponed on Monday.
  • The NPA and Justice Department are seeking the recusal of evidence leader Ishmael Semenya over potential conflicts of interest.
  • The inquiry, established by President Ramaphosa, is investigating alleged interference that halted apartheid-era prosecutions.

The Commission of Inquiry investigating allegations of interference in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, known to many as the Khampepe Commission, will resume in two weeks following Monday’s postponement.

When it resumes, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Justice Department will present oral arguments detailing why they want evidence leader Ishmael Semenya to recuse himself.

The two institutions have argued that Semenya cannot be the evidence leader in the Commission, as he directed some of the decisions made by the NPA in the TRC cases where no prosecution was made.

During Monday’s proceedings, commission leader Justice Sisi Khampepe clarified that the Commission cannot proceed with its hearings until the application by the two entities for the evidence leader to recuse himself has been finalised.

Khampepe said the NPA and the Justice Department are expected to file their founding papers by Wednesday.

The Commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa in May in response to pressure from families demanding justice for apartheid-era crimes.

However, this time around, the Commission is not mandated to look into individual cases of gross human rights violations but is a quasi-judicial body tasked with inquiring into allegations of interference in the criminal justice system in respect of the TRC cases.

This interference resulted in the blocking of hundreds of murder cases and other serious crimes from South Africa’s past from being taken forward.

Anti-apartheid activist Fort Calata was one of the Cradock Four murdered in 1985. His son, Lukhanyo Calata, is one of the first witnesses expected to take the stand.

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