The rule of law prevailed last week, even over former presidents, when retired justice Sisi Khampepe dismissed recusal applications by both Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. They were seeking exemption from having to testify before the judicial commission of inquiry into political interference in Truth & Reconciliation Commission cases, which Khampepe is chairing. The commission is investigating possible interference in prosecuting apartheid-era crimes.
A bad week for Julius Malema
Julius Malema has turned his excuses from toys to Trump. When the EFF leader was on trial for discharging a firearm in a built-up area without justification and reckless endangerment of people and property, he claimed it was a toy gun. Evidence disproved this, and he was found guilty in terms of the Firearms Control Act and convicted in October of unlawfully possessing and firing a firearm in public. During pre-sentencing, he took a leaf out of US President Donald Trump’s defence playbook, saying it was a political prosecution.
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