Retired Justice Sisi Khampepe will remain as chairperson of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate political interference in the investigation and prosecution of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) cases.
This comes after the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg on Monday dismissed the legal bid by former presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki to have her recused herself from the commission. Justice Khampepe was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in May last year to head the commission.
It was claimed that a whistleblower revealed that Justice Khampepe colluded with the commission’s evidence leader, Semenya, and gave him advice during an application last year for his recusal from the commission. The claims included that she also told him to give certain “tips” to advocate Vas Soni SC, who had represented him in the recusal application, and that she had “coached” him on how to conduct his case.
Among the grounds sought for Justice Khampepe’s recusal were that she worked for the TRC’s amnesty committee and as Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) before being appointed to the bench. Zuma sought a declaration from the high court that Justice Khampepe’s dismissal of the recusal application was unconstitutional and invalid, as well as review and set aside the decision.
Alternatively, Zuma has asked the court to review and set aside Justice Khampepe’s decision on the basis of the principle of legality. Mbeki has asked the high court to order that Ramaphosa terminate his appointment of Justice Khampepe and declare all the decisions the commission has taken so far under her null and void.
This is a developing story.
*This article was first published by IOL News
By Bernell Simons
Landfill sites in Mangaung remain in a state of crisis, with criminal activity, illegal occupation by waste pickers and persistent fires continuing to undermine waste management efforts in the metro.
The issue was thrust back into the spotlight earlier this month during a three-day conference led by Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Bernice Swarts in Bloemfontein.
The gathering brought together stakeholders from national, provincial and local government to confront long-standing failures in the system.
At the centre of the debate is the ongoing marginalisation of waste pickers.
Speaking on behalf of the African Reclaimers Organisation, Luyanda Hlatshwayo said government has failed to act on warnings raised more than a decade ago. He highlighted that policies to formally integrate waste pickers already exist but are poorly implemented, leaving many operating in unsafe and unregulated conditions.
Oversight inspections conducted by the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment revealed the extent of the dysfunction.
Officials identified broken fencing, uncontrolled access points and the emergence of informal settlements within landfill sites — conditions that enable both criminal activity and illegal dumping.
Deputy director-general for chemicals and waste-management in the department of forestry, fisheries and environment, Mamogala Musekene confirmed that vandalism and weak access control continue to compromise safety and effective site management.
Musukene says landfill sites are no longer just waste facilities, but hotspots of lawlessness and environmental risk.
“It spans years of ignored warnings, now culminating in a worsening crisis in key landfill sites in Mangaung.
“This is the result of poor enforcement, lack of coordination and failure to implement existing policies and it is rooted in collapsing infrastructure and systemic neglect, he said.
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JN Reporter
In a moment heavy with history and healing, the ancestral remains of 63 Khoi and San people have finally been laid to rest in their homeland in the Northern Cape—more than a century after they were taken without consent for colonial scientific study.
Repatriated last year from the University of Glasgow’s Hunterian Museum and cared for by Iziko Museums of South Africa, the remains were reburied near Steinkopf in a ceremony marked by dignity, reflection and cultural rites.
President Cyril Ramaphosa described the return as a vital act of restoration, acknowledging the long-ignored trauma of indigenous erasure and affirming government’s commitment to justice.
Led by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and the South African Heritage Resources Agency, the reburial ensured each ancestor was laid to rest individually—restoring the dignity once denied.
For descendants, it was a long-overdue homecoming—one that closes a painful chapter while opening a path toward healing.
Civil rights organisation AfriForum has refused to back down after receiving a formal legal warning from African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, who is demanding the cancellation of a media conference scheduled for tomorrow.
The group plans to release a detailed dossier alleging corruption, fraud, and money laundering linked to Mbalula’s 2016 family holiday to Dubai.
In a strongly worded letter dated today from A Mothilal Attorneys Inc on Mbalula’s behalf, the ANC leader’s lawyers accuse AfriForum of preparing to disseminate “unfounded allegations” and warn that the planned briefing at the organisation’s Centurion studio could amount to defamation. The letter demanded an immediate retraction and cancellation of the event by 16h00 today, threatening High Court interdicts, damages claims, and a public apology if AfriForum proceeds.
AfriForum’s communications head, Barry Bateman, and executive director Kallie Kriel responded swiftly on X (formerly Twitter), confirming the organisation will not be deterred. “ANC SG Fikile Mbalula has threatened to gag us… We’re not going away,” Bateman posted, quoting Kriel’s earlier statement. The group says Advocate Gerrie Nel, head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, will outline the allegations at the 10h00 press conference tomorrow, which will be streamed live on AfriForum’s Facebook page.
The controversy centres on Mbalula’s luxury Dubai holiday, which reportedly cost approximately R684,000 while he served as Sports Minister. AfriForum has long alleged that part of the trip was funded through irregular cash payments by Yusuf Dockrat, a director of Sedgars Sport a supplier to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) at the time. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute Mbalula in 2023, a decision AfriForum has repeatedly described as “patently irrational” and possibly selective. The organisation obtained the police docket in 2024 and formally asked the NPA to reconsider prosecution last October.
Tomorrow’s conference marks the latest escalation in what has become a protracted private prosecution campaign by AfriForum against high-profile ANC figures. The group says the “Mbalula Dossier” contains new developments it intends to make public.
Neither Mbalula nor the ANC had issued a public statement at the time of writing, but the legal letter insists Mbalula “vehemently denies” all allegations and is entitled to the constitutional presumption of innocence.
The press conference is set for 25 March at 10:00.
The Democratic Alliance has called on Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to appear before Parliament to provide a full breakdown of the R823 million set aside for an imminent military deployment.
The party says urgent clarity is needed on how the amount was calculated and what safeguards are in place to prevent waste or corruption.
DA NCOP member on Security and Justice Nicholas Gotsell highlighted the broader concerns around Defence spending, pointing to recent reports of lavish Armed Forces Day celebrations, including subsistence and travel payments of up to R70 000 per individual, alongside ongoing spending on golf days and social events.
He said these reports “demonstrate precisely why Parliament cannot take the Department of Defence’s financial assurances at face value.”
Gotsell added that this was not an isolated incident. “The Department has failed to obtain a clean audit from the Auditor-General for years, and 34% of current SIU and Hawks investigations within the security cluster relate to the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, to the tune of R2.5 billion.
''Against this backdrop, reckless or poorly controlled spending is not merely embarrassing – it is a direct risk to operational readiness and public trust.”
The DA raised these concerns during a recent meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, where Minister Motshekga was present for an earlier agenda item but was excused when the Committee turned to the critical matter of the President’s employment letters authorising the SANDF deployment.
Gotsell described this as the second ANC Minister to snub the committee to provide answers to urgent deployment questions.
Gotsell said the party objected to Motshekga’s departure, particularly given the many unanswered questions regarding the timeline, planning, command and control structures, and, most importantly, the very specific figure of R823 153 960 attached to the deployment.
“This is a figure that was already presented to Parliament as early as 6 March, yet to date no detailed breakdown has been provided to justify how this amount was calculated or how it will be spent,” he said.
He also referred to the Sunday revelations about excessive spending on Armed Forces Day, noting that they “illustrate how easily public funds can be mismanaged when Ministers continuously fail to appear before Parliament or answer oversight questions.”
The DA has formally requested that Minister Motshekga and the SANDF appear before the joint meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Portfolio Committee on Police on Friday, 27 March, to provide a full and proper breakdown of the deployment cost.
“There can be no price tag on people’s lives, but there must always be accountability for how public money is spent – especially when hundreds of millions of rand are involved and when the same Department has repeatedly failed to meet basic standards of financial governance.
''Friday’s meeting must provide answers to MPs and the people waiting urgently for this deployment,'' said Gotsell.
*This article was first published by IOL News
