Families, survivors of apartheid crimes fight Zuma, Mbeki’s court bid

Families, survivors of apartheid crimes fight Zuma, Mbeki's court bid A crucial legal battle is set for the Constitutional Court on June 29, when 25 families and survivors of apartheid-era crimes, alongside the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR), will formally oppose an application lodged by former Presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki. The high-stakes hearing marks the latest hurdle in a decades-long struggle for truth and accountability. In March, the Gauteng High Court dismissed the application brought by Zuma and Mbeki to withdraw retired Justice Sisi Khampepe as chairperson of the Commission investigating alleged political interference in the prosecution of apartheid era crimes, known as the TRC Cases Inquiry. Zuma and Mbeki are seeking direct leave to appeal the majority judgment. The High Court originally threw out the former Presidents' review applications because they failed to get prior consent to sue a sitting or retired judge, a strict requirement under Section 47(1) of the Superior Courts Act. In response, Mbeki and Zuma bypassed regular appellate channels to file an urgent application directly with the Constitutional Court, alongside conditional applications in the Supreme Court of Appeal. The families and the FHR will ask the apex court to dismiss the former leaders' applications, arguing that they failed to establish a genuine basis for an urgent hearing, and that their case does not meet the strict legal criteria required for direct appeal or direct access to the Constitutional Court. The families say the merits of both the appeals and the underlying recusal review lack legal substance, noting that granting further delays deeply harms a process that has already been stalled for generations. The TRC Cases Inquiry was established after landmark Constitutional damages litigation launched by apartheid-era victims' families and the FHR in January 2025. The families argued that their constitutional rights were actively violated because the State failed to investigate and prosecute apartheid-era crimes. They alleged that successive administrations used political interference to unlawfully suppress the work of the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks. A partial settlement in that lawsuit led President Cyril Ramaphosa to officially establish the Commission on May 29, 2025. While the families respect the constitutional right of any citizen to approach the courts, they warn that strategic litigation is actively harming aging survivors and relatives. For these families, this is not an abstract academic exercise or a political chess match, they said, but a painful process concerning the State-sanctioned deaths, disappearances, torture, and systemic suffering of their loved ones. The families emphasise that the Commission has already lost significant momentum owing to ongoing court battles.