‘No idea Bashir was on the plane’

GOVERNMENT had no idea that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was among the passengers in the plane which took off from Waterkloof Air Force Base shortly before noon on June 15.

His passport was not among the passports handed over by representatives of Sudan to the immigration officials and his name was also not included in the list of passengers.

This is according to an affidavit filed by government, following an earlier order by Judge President Dunstan Mlambo who wanted answers as to how it came about that Bashir left South Africa, in spite of a court order prohibiting this.

The president had already been in the air for an hour by the time the High Court in Pretoria commenced hearing an application by the Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) that he be arrested and handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC). By the time Judge President Mlambo ordered his immediate arrest, Bashir was nearly in Sudan.

It was only after the court handed down its order more than four hours after the plane took off that it was told that Bashir had already left.

Director-General of Home Affairs, Mkuseli Apleni, said all ports of entry were on alert that he may not leave.

While Home Affairs recorded his entry into the country, there is no record of him leaving.

Apleni said following media reports at about 11.55am on June 15 that Bashir had just departed from Waterkloof Air Force Base, he asked the immigration officials to verify this.

“They told me his passport was not among the passports that were handed to immigration for processing.”

On June 15 the SAPS Protection Service accompanied the Sudanese delegation from Sandton to Waterkloof, where their passports were handed over by a Sudanese representative to an immigration officer. “The officer first of all checked to determine whether any of the passports belonged to President alBashir,” Apleni said.

“He concluded that the passport was not among the

Told me his passport was not among the passports that were handed to immigration

passports provided.”

The passports were checked and the flight left, Apleni said.

Meanwhile, African News Agency ( ANA) reports that the government is set to start formal engagements with the ICC. Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe confirmed that the country was also reviewing its membership of the tribunal.

Briefing journalists on the outcomes of Wednesday’s fortnightly cabinet meeting, Radebe defended South Africa’s failure to arrest Bashir when he attended the African Union (AU) Summit in Johannesburg.

Radebe said it had to balance its obligations to the ICC with its obligations to the AU and the matter of diplomatic immunity.

The minister said South Africa had accepted an invitation prior to the AU Summit to consult with the ICC over article 97 of the Rome Statute.

A meeting was also scheduled to take place while the summit was under way, but the ICC issued an order that article 97 consultations had been concluded and that Bashir must be arrested.

South Africa intends to lodge a dispute with the ICC.

“South Africa will enter into formal negotiations with the ICC with a view to understanding the ICC’s reasoning on how it interprets article 97 ( of the Rome Statute),” Radebe said. “South Africa also wants to understand, from the ICC, what its obligations are in terms of article 98 (2) to a requested state which cannot in violation of an international obligation execute a warrant of arrest.”

Government was set to appoint a team of ministers to start formal engagements with the ICC.