Pretoria - Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s name was not on the list of passengers who left the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria shortly before noon on June 15.
This is according to Government, who filed its report with the high court in Pretoria on Thursday to explain how it came about that al-Bashir had left the country, in spite of a court order preventing this.
Judge President Bernard Mlambo more than a week ago ordered Government to explain why it did not adhere to the court order.
By the time the court ordered Government to arrest al-Bashir while he was attending the AU summit in South-Africa and to hand him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the president had long since left.
Mkuseli Apleni, Home Affairs DG, said in an affidavit that Government had no idea al-Bashir was among the passengers who left on the Sudanese flight around 11:55 on June 15. Apleni said when the immigration officers checked the passports of those on board, the passport of al-Bashir was not among those handed to them.
A list of the names of the passengers who left on that flight was handed over to the judges and it did not include the name of al-Bashir.
There was simply no record of him leaving the country, Apleni said.
Pretoria News