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Nduduzo Tshuma Political Editor
SOUTH African President Jacob Zuma yesterday said his government did not arrest Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir when he visited the country in June as he was there as a guest of the African Union.
Zuma, who was speaking in Parliament, said the country was not going to arrest Al Bashir in violation of the continental body’s rules.
He was responding to Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane who had reminded Zuma of his statement in Parliament in 2010 when he said the country would arrest Al-Bashir if he visited the country.
The South African Litigation Centre (SALC) launched a court action to have Al Bashir arrested while attending the 25th African Union Summit in Johannesburg in June over alleged genocide and crimes against humanity.
The organisation sought to have President Al-Bashir arrested on the strength of two warrants of arrest from the International Criminal Court on allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity in the Darfur region.
The South African High Court in Pretoria granted an interim order that sought to bar President Al-Bashir from leaving Johannesburg pending the hearing of the court application.
The court in its final judgement then ordered the arrest of President Al-Bashir.
President Al-Bashir however, returned to Sudan on the last day of the AU Summit much to the chagrin of the SALC and fellow western sponsored organisations.
Maimane during yesterday’s Parliament accused the executive of contravening a High Court order that ruled that the South African government should arrest Al Bashir but instead “assisted” him to leave the country.
“No Bashir has come to South Africa on the invitation of the South African government to do business. Bashir’s coming to South Africa was as a result of AU invitation and he was therefore a guest of AU. When the AU summit is being held here like what happens at the United Nations meetings, the delegates are guests of the AU,” explained Zuma.
“That’s why the minister of International Relations and Cooperation (Maite Nkoana-Mashabane ), ten days before, he gazetted the area that would be the AU area, from the airport to the specific areas where heads of state were going to stay. So Bashir was here for the AU not visiting South Africa as I said when I was here.
“Bashir didn’t come to South Africa on the invitation of South Africa, he came here to do continental business invited by the continental organisation. We’ve no right to violate the AU rules.”
Progressive African organisations have dismissed the ICC as “a flawed European Court for Africa” funded and controlled by former colonisers to push their political agendas in the developing world.
President Mugabe, speaking at a Press conference after the AU Summit, questioned the reasoning of some South African judges after that country’s High Court granted an interim order seeking to bar President Al-Bashir from leaving Johannesburg.
The AU chairperson also took a swipe at foreign funded non-governmental organisations that were angling for President Al-Bashir’s arrest.
South Africa is signatory to ICC and NGOs in that country used that to seek the arrest of President Al-Bashir whom the ICC accuses of genocide and violating human rights in his country.
Online Reporter