South African court attacks government over 'disgraceful' flight of al-Bashir

“The affidavit failed to explain how a head of state, using a military air base reserved for the use of dignitaries, could possible left the country unobserved,” the panel of judges said.

"The assurances that he was still in the country given at the commencement and during the course of argument were false. It was disgraceful conduct."

The ruling holds little punitive weight but will heap further woes on the government of Jacob Zuma, the president who is already suffering record-low opinion poll ratings^[1] over a corruption scandal and poor economic stewardship. It also means Mr Bashir or anyone else wanted by the ICC will in future face immediate arrest in South Africa.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Mr Bashir in 2009 and 2010, accusing him of masterminding genocide and other atrocities in his campaign to crush a revolt in the Darfur region. He has long rejected the court's authority.

The conflict in Darfur^[2] has killed as many as 300,000 people and displaced 2 million, according to the United Nations.

South Africa previously advised Mr aBashir not to visit the country because of the warrant but in recent years the ruling ANC, along with many African governments, have accused the ICC of unfairly targeting the continent and questioned its validity.

Before his visit in June last year, South African diplomats met the ICC’s presiding judge to argue that because of a “lack of clarity” in the arrest warrant’s terms and “competing obligations” South Africa faced, Mr Bashir should be allowed to visit. The ICC rejected the request.

Instead Mr Bashir arrived at the summit and posed for pictures with 53 other African Union heads of state. When a South African human rights group brought an urgent high court application for South Africa to comply with its international obligations however, he vanished.

The South African government’s lawyer insisted^[3] that did not mean he had left the country, suggesting he “could be taking a break in his hotel room or doing shopping” and confirming that all South African ports of entry had been alerted to the court order blocking his departure.

Hours later, South African media confirmed the departure from Waterkloof Air Force Base of Mr Bashir’s plane taking off.

The South African government was previously censored by the High Court but appealed the ruling to the SCA, which dismissed the appeal this week.

The South African Litigation Centre, which brought the original case, said it meant Mr Bashir must be arrested if he returns to South Africa.

"The government should seek to uphold the rule of law instead of shielding suspected war criminals and the Supreme Court of Appeal has made this clear today," SALC director Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh said.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s biggest opposition party, called for mR Zuma and his cabinet to be held in contempt of court.

References

1. ^{^} record-low opinion poll ratings (www.telegraph.co.uk)
2. ^{^} The conflict in Darfur (www.telegraph.co.uk)
3. ^{^} South African government’s lawyer insisted (www.telegraph.co.uk)