DA calls for urgent debate on Al-Bashir’s unlawful departure

17 June 2015

The unlawful decision on Monday to allow Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to depart South Africa, despite a clear High Court ruling prohibiting it, is an affront to the Constitution and the principles on which it is based.

I have therefore written to the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) to request a debate of national importance, as per NA Rule 103, on the events surrounding Al-Bashir’s illegal departure from South Africa on 15 June.

In allowing Al-Bashir to leave the country, the government is not only in contempt of court for disregarding the High Court’s ruling, but also in violation of international law. As a signatory to the Rome Statute, South Africa is obligated by international law to honour warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Criticisms of the ICC notwithstanding, until such a time as we formally withdraw as a party to the treaty the government cannot decide arbitrarily to dismiss it.

This event once again illustrates that President Zuma’s government believes itself to be above the law with no respect for the separation of powers, or the separation of party and state.

Furthermore, DA Member of Parliament Jacques Julius, was blocked this afternoon from asking Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa about the Al-Bashir saga in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Chairperson of the NCOP, Thandi Modise, erroneously ruled the question out of order on the basis that it was sub judice.

Considering that there is currently no pending judicial decision on the matter, this is nothing more than a deliberate ploy to avoid the Deputy President having to account for the wilful miscarriage of justice perpetrated by government.

It is clear that the NCOP, like the NA, has had its independence compromised by the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment that serves to shield the Executive from accountability.

The DA will not allow government to blatantly sidestep the Constitution and subvert the rule of law at their will. Nor will it sit idly by as the ANC erodes the foundations of our democracy.

We will not relent until the truth is uncovered and those responsible are brought to justice.

Statement issued by DA leader Mmusi Maimane, June 17 2015