Cape Town - The South African government said late on Monday that it would enquire into the controversial circumstances surrounding the departure of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir from South Africa in defiance of a high court order compelling him to remain in the country.
In a statement on Monday, Acting Cabinet spokesperson Phumla Williams said: “Government notes the judgment of the North Gauteng High Court on the matter regarding Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.
“As indicated in court, government will enquire the circumstances under which President Al Bashir left the country. We will also comply with the court order relating to submission of an affidavit outlining these circumstances.
“We will however await written reasons of the judgment as indicated by the court.”
The High Court in Pretoria has demanded an explanation as to why Bashir was allowed to leave South Africa on Monday, despite an interim court order barring him from doing so.
“We request an affidavit to be filed with the registrar of this court within seven days, disclosing the time when he left, the port of entry or exit that he used,” Judge President Dunstan Mlambo told the government’s legal counsel, advocate William Mokhari.
“It is of concern to this court that it issues orders and then things just happen in violation of those orders. Be that as it may, that is an order we issue under the circumstances.”
Mlambo made the order, on behalf of a full bench of judges presiding over the high profile matter on Monday. He said the three judges were of the view that Bashir should have been detained by South African authorities.
Bashir has been indicted by the ICC for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against some of the tribes of Sudan’s western Darfur region. Two warrants of arrest were issued against him in 2009 and 2010. As a member of the ICC, South Africa is obliged to arrest him and surrender him to the ICC.
The application before the High Court in Pretoria was brought by the Southern Africa Litigation Centre who wanted South Africa to arrest Bashir who was in the country to attend the 25th African Union summit taking place in Johannesburg.
ANA