By Lovemore Lubinda
JOHANNESBURG-(MaraviPost)-Former South African presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma will be forced to testify before the judicial inquiry into stalled apartheid-era prosecutions after losing a protracted legal bid to avoid appearing.
Thabo Mbeki is scheduled to testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Cases Inquiry on 19 and 20 October 2026, with Jacob Zuma set to appear shortly after on 22 October 2026.
Both will appear before inquiry chairperson, retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe.
The commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of deliberate political interference, executive blocking and calculated delays in the prosecution of more than 300 cases referred by the original TRC to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
At the heart of the inquiry is the question of whether successive administrations under Mbeki and Zuma systematically suppressed the cases to protect senior political figures, denying justice to victims’ families for almost three decades.
The upcoming testimonies follow months of legal manoeuvring by the two former heads of state, who mounted a joint application for the recusal of Justice Khampepe.
Mbeki and Zuma argued that Khampepe’s prior roles as a commissioner on the TRC’s Amnesty Committee and later as Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions (DNDPP) created a conflict of interest and a “reasonable apprehension of bias.” Zuma went further, accusing her of personal bias and misconduct based on past judgments she authored against him.
The recusal bid was rejected by Khampepe herself and subsequently by the High Court. The challenge reached a definitive end when the Constitutional Court dismissed their application for review, leaving both former presidents with no further legal avenue to avoid the commission.
The push for their testimony has been driven by apartheid-era survivors and families, prominently the Calata Group and the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR).
Lukhanyo Calata, son of Fort Calata — one of the assassinated “Cradock Four” activists — has been among those actively urging the commission to subpoena the former leaders.
Both Mbeki and Zuma will now be required to answer direct questions about what they knew and what role, if any, they played in the stalled prosecutions.
The TRC Cases Inquiry is mandated to complete its work and submit its final findings and recommendations to President Ramaphosa by 18 December 2026.
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