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President Omar al-Bashir

Hebert Zharare and Lloyd Gumbo
South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, yesterday expressed shock at the interim order granted by the High Court in Pretoria, that sought to prevent Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir from leaving Johannesburg pending the hearing of an urgent application brought by the Southern African Litigation Centre, compelling authorities to arrest him on the strength of two warrants of arrest from the International Criminal Court.

President Al-Bashir is being accused of committing crimes against humanity and genocide in the Darfur region.

He is in South Africa where he joined other African Heads of State and Government attending the African Union mid-term summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannes- burg.

Legal and political analysts yesterday slammed the Western machinations and called for Africa to resist the attempts to undermine its leadership.

South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which puts responsibility on the country to arrest persons indicted by the ICC.

However, the AU has resolved to pull out of the Western-backed ICC and create the African Court of Justice.

Said the ANC in a statement: “The African National Congress (ANC) has noted the interim order granted by the High Court in Pretoria preventing the President of Sudan, His Excellency Omar Al-Bashir from leaving South Africa pending the hearing of an urgent application brought by the Southern African Litigation Centre to compel South African authorities to arrest him on the strength of two warrants of arrest from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.”

The party said South Africa was supposed to offer all leaders immunity as part of the international norms for countries hosting such gatherings of the AU or United Nations.

“The ANC welcomes the government’s compliance with this requirement and further notes that this Gazette, which provided immunity for all persons attending the AU Summit was not contested by any party. It is on this basis, amongst others, that the ANC calls upon government to challenge the order now being brought to compel the South African government to detain President al-Bashir.”

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC was of the view that the ICC was no longer useful for the purposes for which it was intended – being a court of last resort for the prosecution of crimes against humanity. “The fact that compliance with the prescripts of the International Criminal Court is voluntary and countries can choose whether to be a signatory or not, means that gross human violations committed by non-signatory countries go unpunished. Countries, mainly in Africa and Eastern Europe, who due to their unwavering commitment to upholding human rights and universal justice, have elected to be signatories to the ICC continue to unjustifiably bear the brunt of the decisions of the ICC with Sudan being the latest example.”

The ANC called for the review of the statutes of the ICC to compel all member states of the United Nations to be signatories to the Rome Statute to ensure that the ICC acts in accordance with the function for which it was intended – a fair and independent court for universal and equitable justice.

African leaders have already discredited the ICC, accusing it of being biased.

Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo took a swipe at the ICC through his Twitter account yesterday.

“Calls on SA to arrest President Al-Bashir on behalf of ICC Kangaroo Court are utter imperialist rubbish sponsored by (the) US which is not an ICC member!

“The real hypocrites are Anglo-Saxon imperialists like the US that unleash the ICC on Africans but don’t submit to it! We need an impartial court not an Anglo-Saxon Kangaroo court called ICC that US hasn’t joined!

“How many lives have been destroyed around the world by the US and its murderous imperialist allies? Let’s come up with credible national, regional and continental structures not manipulated by Anglo-Saxon imperialists!

“Yes, this is from proud Zimbabwe. Take it or leave it. Down with imperialism and its Kangaroo institutions such as ICC! The ICC has distinguished itself as a discredited extra-judicial anti-African Kangaroo forum manipulated by the US which isn’t an ICC member!”

Prominent lawyer Mr Terrence Hussein said although South Africa was a signatory of the Rome Statute, it was supposed to go back to basics and use international relations to protect visiting Heads of State and Governments.

“South Africa wants to be a giant in Africa and this time if it fails to protect Mr Al-Bashir, its role will become smaller. It cannot have its cake and eat it.

“Although South Africa signed the Rome Statute, it should protect the Sudanese President in terms of international relations. South Africa can fight this in court to defend President Al-Bashir,” he said.

Lawyer Mr Tendai Toto said South Africa should refuse to be abused by the West.

“In terms of international relations and justifiable complaints against the ICC by the majority of African leaders, it remains questionable why the majority of defendants at the ICC are either former or sitting African leaders?

“This then creates the notion that the ICC is acting as an agent to entrench the so-called democratic and governance principles on Africa by the West.

“Should South Africa proceed to co-operate with the ICC, it is reasonable for any interested people to believe that South Africa ensnared Al-Bashir by inviting him to the summit,” said Mr Toto.

Career diplomat, Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa, who is Minister of Welfare Services for the War Veterans, War Collaborators, Former Political Detainees and Restrictees, said President Al-Bashir was in South Africa to attend an AU Summit.

“This is not a bilateral gathering. Al-Bashir is a bona fide guest as per the AU Charter. The ICC has no business interfering in this matter. As for court actions on Al-Bashir, those lawyers should better spend time bringing to justice the legions of apartheid genocidaires amongst the midst of SA society.

“These are international criminals who committed untold crimes within and without the borders of South Africa. The Bible says focus on the beam in your eye not the straw in another person’s eyes.”

Added Ambassador Mutsvangwa: “The Sadc region still has to witness redress and justice from crimes of Western-sponsored racist marauders of yesteryear. Culprits are alive and living scot-free.

“The Republic of South Africa post-apartheid African National Congress is doing its best to exorcise the heinous past of the racist state. It is actively restoring its Pan-African credentials and working hard to identify with the Mother African continent. Kudos to that initiative.

“We dismiss and condemn manoeuvres of rightwing neo-liberal machinations that vainly hope to appropriate our flagship continental power to nefarious schemes of divide and rule by Berlin Conference powers that partitioned Africa in 1884.”

Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and Administrative Studies at the University of Zimbabwe Dr Heather Chingono said it was high time African countries denounced the use of ruinous international institutions.

“More so, African states should not be co-operating to destroy one another. We expect productive co-operation that yields benefits towards the unanimous developmental agenda of the African states. For South Africa to try and apprehend Al-Bashir on its soil will not only cause animosity among African states, but most importantly will result in instability that in everyone’s view is counterproductive to development.

“The question that is pertinent then is; who benefits from Africa’s confusion, destabilisation and malnourished development? Your guess is as good as mine! Among all the beneficiaries the most guaranteed thing to say is that Africa is not among these. So why should Africa concern itself with non-progressive issues?” said Dr Chingono.