Adv Ishmael Semenya has dismissed the request by two former presidents and several former cabinet ministers for the recusal of Justice Sisi Khampepe from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission TRC, saying their allegation of possible impartiality by the judge are without merit and are intended to deceive.
This comes after presidents Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki filed applications seeking the recusal of Khampepe, arguing that she has a disqualifying conflict of interest arising from her prior roles in the TRC Amnesty Committee and as deputy national director of public prosecutions, which they contend intersect directly with the commissions mandate.
They further allege that she engaged in serious misconduct by providing undisclosed legal advice to Semenya to defeat a recusal application over which she was presiding, thereby undermining impartiality and procedural fairness.
