Thabo Mbeki

Families of apartheid crime victims and former prosecutors alleged that political intervention under the Mbeki and subsequent Zuma administrations had contributed to blocking or delaying prosecutions of cases referred by the TRC. A judicial commission chaired by Sisi Khampepe was established in 2025 to examine the allegations. In 2026, Mbeki and Zuma unsuccessfully sought Khampepe's recusal; the inquiry continued, and no final finding of Mbeki's personal guilt had been established.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Political responsibility

From 1999, Mbeki's government entered into an extensive military procurement programme that became one of democratic South Africa's largest public procurement scandals. Following parliamentary warnings, Mbeki refused to authorise the Special Investigating Unit to participate in the initial inquiry. The Seriti Commission, which years later found no corruption, had its main findings set aside by the High Court in 2019 for inadequate investigation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Mbeki had sent judges Sisi Khampepe and Dikgang Moseneke to assess the framework for Zimbabwe's 2002 elections. Their report concluded that the vote was neither free nor fair. The document remained secret for more than a decade while Pretoria maintained a much more conciliatory public position towards Robert Mugabe. It was only released following lengthy litigation concluded in 2014.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

In September 2008, a judge setting aside Jacob Zuma's prosecution on procedural grounds made observations suggesting high-level political interference, contributing to the ANC's decision to recall Mbeki and his resignation as President. In January 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the judgment and criticised those observations as irrelevant and unsupported.

Person targeted by the proceedings

Jacob Zuma

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

Under Mbeki's presidency, South Africa's government delayed and restricted antiretroviral rollout while Mbeki publicly gave space to theories challenging the scientific consensus on HIV. A Harvard study estimated more than 330,000 preventable premature deaths associated with these policies between 2000 and 2005.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

Mbeki favoured quiet diplomacy towards Robert Mugabe's government as Zimbabwe faced political violence, economic crisis and electoral disputes. The approach was criticised in South Africa and abroad for its apparent lack of public pressure on Harare.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

As Deputy President, Thabo Mbeki supported continued evaluation of Virodene, an experimental treatment presented as a possible response to AIDS, while the Medicines Control Council opposed human trials on safety, ethical and regulatory compliance grounds. The episode became emblematic of conflict between political authority and scientific medicines regulation, predating the wider controversy over his presidency's HIV policy.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility