South African Parliament to Debate Controversy Over Sudan President Bashir

Posted by African Examiner African News, Latest Headlines Saturday, June 20th, 2015

A prominent South African opposition lawmaker says President Jacob Zuma’s government flouted the constitution by refusing to carry out a court order that sought to prevent Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir from leaving the country following the recent African Union summit held in Johannesburg.

South Africa’s parliament plans to open a debate on Tuesday about the administration’s refusal to prevent President Bashir from leaving the country despite the court’s ruling.

Parliamentarian Jordan Lewis from the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) says the party will demand answers from the government. He said it was unlawful for the government to sign a so-called political agreement with the African Union that guaranteed immunity to all heads of state who were at the summit.

Lewis said the refusal of the administration to arrest Mr. Bashir puts the country in a constitutional crisis.

“This is a very serious matter and as the Democratic Alliance, we have called for accountability on this matter. We want the government to explain how is it that Bashir was let out of the country without being arrested and how is it that the government can simply ignore an order of a court,” he said.

VOA