{
  "id": 4633073,
  "title": "Concourt dismisses Zuma and Mbeki bid to remove Khampepe from TRC inquiry",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/concourt-dismisses-zuma-and-mbeki-bid-to-remove-khampepe-from-trc",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T11:01:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/the-star/2026-08-31-concourt-dismisses-zuma-and-mbeki-bid-to-remove-khampepe-from-trc-inquiry/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Constitutional Court has ruled against former South African presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki's attempts to remove retired Justice Sisi Khampepe from chairing an inquiry into alleged political interference in apartheid-era Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases. The court's decision allows Khampepe to continue as the chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry. Despite losing their bid to have Khampepe recused from the inquiry, Zuma and Mbeki were granted permission to appeal the High Court's ruling. The Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the High Court's initial decision, while dismissing the former presidents' application for condonation for filing the recusal application late. Zuma and Mbeki argued that Khampepe's involvement in the National Prosecuting Authority and previous TRC hearings created a reasonable apprehension of bias, but the court found no jurisdiction to determine the recusal application without prior permission due to her retired status. The court also dismissed the application to review the Chairperson's ruling on allegations of political interference in the TRC process.",
  "summary": "The Constitutional Court has dismissed Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki’s bid to remove Justice Sisi Khampepe from the TRC inquiry.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SABC News",
        "title": "LIVE: ConCourt hands down judgement on bid to oust Khampepe",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/live-concourt-hands-down-judgement-on-bid-to-oust-khampepe",
        "published": "2026-08-31T07:44:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "BREAKING | ConCourt dismisses Zuma, Mbeki bid to remove Khampepe from TRC inquiry",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/breaking-concourt-dismisses-zuma-mbeki-bid-to-remove-khampepe-from",
        "published": "2026-08-31T08:13:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Citizen",
        "title": "JUST IN: Zuma, Mbeki lose bid to have Khampepe recused from TRC inquiry in ConCourt ruling",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/just-in-zuma-mbeki-lose-bid-to-have-khampepe-recused-from-trc-inquiry",
        "published": "2026-08-31T08:26:31.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}