SA given a week to explain the Bashir escape

{The South African government has a week to explain to judges why it defied a court order barring the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from leaving the country.}

President Bashir flew out of South Africa on Monday, before the end of the African Union leaders’ summit, despite an earlier ruling blocking him from leaving.

A court Monday ordered the government to disclose why he was allowed to leave, in a ruling which criticised the authorities’ action as inconsistent with the constitution.

President Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, arrived in South Africa on Saturday to attend the AU summit, prompting a court bid by a rights group to have him arrested.

The South African government said it would investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Bashir’s departure on his presidential jet that took off from a military base.

“We will also comply with the court order relating to submission of an affidavit outlining these circumstances,” the government said in a statement.

Global criticism

A constitutional law expert warned that South Africa’s decision to defy the court order on President Bashir did not bode well for the country’s justice system.

“When a democratically elected government flouts the orders of a court, it undermines public confidence in the courts and undermines the legal system as a whole,” said Pierre de Vos, who is based at the University of Cape Town.

Mr De Vos said the decision “constitutes a deliberate, pre-meditated, act of contempt of court”.

President Bashir’s presence overshadowed the summit held in Johannesburg, placing the South African government under scrutiny.

South Africa is a signatory of The Hague-based ICC and has come under global criticism for failing to arrest Bashir, who has evaded justice since his indictment in 1999.

The ICC indictments relate to the western Sudanese region of Darfur, which erupted into conflict in 2003 when black insurgents rose up against Bashir’s Arab-dominated government, protesting they were marginalised.

(AFP)