President Cyril Ramaphosa says he tried to get retired justice Sisi Khampepe to step down as chair of the judicial commission of inquiry established to determine whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes.
Ramaphosa, cited as a respondent in former president Jacob Zuma’s application to have Khampepe removed as chair of the commission, is not opposing the case before the high court in Johannesburg.
Zuma argues Khampepe cannot lead the commission because she was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and its amnesty committee, appointed by the late president Nelson Mandela in 1995, and served as the Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions from September 1998 to December 1999.
The commission is tasked with probing whether there was political infiltration in the NPA that caused delays in the prosecution of TRC cases. Khampepe chairing the inquiry has also attracted pushback from former president Thabo Mbeki.
Zuma argues Khampepe’s time in the NPA is relevant to the subject matter of the commission’s mandate investigating the NPA’s failure to prosecute TRC cases.
“During her tenure in the NPA she was notably deputising one of the main participants and possible witnesses in the current commission, Bulelani Ngcuka,” Zuma’s papers read.
Mbeki has filed an application to join Zuma’s case as he is also seeking Khampepe’s removal, citing her historical involvement in TRC matters and arguing lack of impartiality.
Ramaphosa, in an explanatory affidavit filed on Thursday, argues he did not know of the allegations against Khampepe before he appointed her as chair.
“At the time, I appointed justice Khampepe as the chair of the commission, I was unaware of the allegations. Since her appointment, justice Khampepe has not informed me of her prior involvement at the TRC or NPA,” Ramaphosa’s affidavit reads.
The allegations she faces include that during her time in the NPA she apparently played a role in the Human Rights Investigation Unit, established by then NDPP Ngcuka to advise him on how to handle the cases referred to the NPA by the TRC.
“As a member of the [TRC] amnesty committee, the chair refused the killers of Richard and Irene Motasi amnesty. The family of Richard and Irene Motasi are applicants before the commission.
“Had I been aware of the allegations at the time that I appointed justice Khampepe as chair of the commission, I would not have appointed her,” Ramaphosa maintains.
Ramaphosa argues he would have not appointed her to avoid the legal showdowns delaying the work of the commission and to avoid potential public criticism.
Both Mbeki and Zuma argue they were refused amnesty by a panel which Khampepe was part of in TRC matters.
Ramaphosa argues when he became aware of the allegations, he requested justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi to approach Khampepe on the possibility of stepping down.
“I requested that the minister of justice approach justice Khampepe to consider standing down as chair. She was asked that in light of the controversy over her appointment and the damage to the public image of the commission. I am informed that she declined to step down.”
Ramaphosa, in his court papers, states that he has no objection to the court application seeking an order for the removal of Khampepe.
The Zuma application has been opposed by the commission.
Business Day
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