Bashir: government denied leave to appeal

 

September 16 2015 at 10:25am
By Zelda Venter and ANA

Link to web article here.

EPASudanese President Omar Al Bashir File photo: Kim Ludbrook

Pretoria - Government has lost its bid for leave to appeal against a full bench high court decision in which it was ordered to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he was in South Africa attending the AU summit in June.

The Southern Africa Litigation Centre approached the Gauteng High Court in a bid to have Al-Bashir arrested in line with an international warrant.

He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

The court ordered the government to bar him from leaving, however he still managed to leave.

The court then subsequently found that South Africa was duty-bound to arrest Al-Bashir and that the government's failure to do so was unconstitutional.

Judge Hans Fabricius on Wednesday reiterated government’s obligations under domestic and international law and said that in the court’s opinion, no other court would come to a different finding.

Judge Fabricius, Judge President Dunstan Mlambno and Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba all agreed that the issues were in any event moot by now, as al-Bashir had already left the country.

Reading out the judgment on Wednesday, Judge Fabricius said the court is still of the opinion that al-Bashir did not enjoy any immunity from arrest while in South Africa and he should have been handed over to the International Criminal Court.

He said the South African government had an obligation to do so.

Spokesperson for Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha, Mthunzi Mhaga, said they will consider their options to perhaps appeal directly to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

Pretoria News and ANA