Ramaphosa Extends Deadline for TRC Prosecution Inquiry to July 2026

Serving alongside Justice Khampepe are retired Northern Cape Judge President Frans Diale Kgomo and senior counsel Adv Andrea Gabriel, who were appointed as supporting commissioners.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has formally extended the deadline for the Judicial Commission of Inquiry tasked with investigating alleged attempts to obstruct prosecutions arising from unresolved cases linked to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process.

In a statement issued by The Presidency on Monday, President Ramaphosa confirmed that the Commission — led by retired Constitutional Court Justice Sisi Khampepe — will now submit its final report by 31 July 2026, extending the original timeline by more than a year.

The Commission was established through a presidential proclamation signed in May 2025 to probe longstanding concerns that key apartheid-era atrocities referred by the TRC for potential prosecution were neglected, improperly delayed, or actively interfered with.

Serving alongside Justice Khampepe are retired Northern Cape Judge President Frans Diale Kgomo and senior counsel Adv Andrea Gabriel, who were appointed as supporting commissioners. The inquiry is regarded as one of the most significant legal efforts to address alleged unresolved injustices from the apartheid period.

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Reasons Behind the Extension

Under its original terms, the Commission was required to complete its investigations within 180 days and submit its report within 60 days of completing its work. However, The Presidency noted that several developments hindered progress, including:

• A delayed operational start after formal establishment

• Outstanding responses from multiple stakeholders

• Expected applications for cross-examination from affected parties

• The December 2025 to January 2026 recess period

• The complex and sensitive nature of historical evidence gathering

As a result, Ramaphosa has amended the Terms of Reference to allow the Commission to complete its work by 29 May 2026, followed by a two-month period for final report compilation and submission.

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Mandate and National Significance

The inquiry is expected to examine why dozens of apartheid-era human rights violations — including politically motivated killings, disappearances, torture cases, and suspected state-sanctioned crimes — remain unresolved more than three decades into democracy.

Civil society, legal advocacy groups, and victims’ families have long argued that structural and political interference prevented proper prosecution, undermining the TRC’s vision of truth, accountability, and restorative justice.

The Presidency described the extension as essential to ensuring a credible, transparent, and comprehensive outcome, rather than a rushed or incomplete process.

“President Ramaphosa says the extension will aid the Commission to complete its work without any further delay and to provide the country with a full account of the circumstances that gave rise to the establishment of the Commission,” the statement read.

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Historical Context

The TRC, established in 1995, investigated gross human rights violations committed between 1960 and 1994. While perpetrators who made full disclosure were eligible for amnesty, hundreds who did not were meant to face prosecution — a commitment many critics say the state failed to honour.

The outcome of this inquiry is expected to shape future accountability frameworks, potential criminal proceedings, and policy reforms relating to historical justice.