Sudanese President Omar al Bashir almost led to Zuma’s impeachment.
Image: Kasapa FM Online.
The South African parliament is reported to have rejected the proposal by the opposition for the impeachment of their president, Jacob Zuma following the debacle in which South Africa found itself with egg in the face after the man that was wanted by the International Criminal Court, Omar al-Bashir, the current president of Sudan was allowed to leave the country despite a court order barring him from doing so. The vote, which was sponsored by South Africa’s main opposition, The Democratic Alliance, was lost by a vote of 211 to 100.
Bashir, who is accused of killing many people in Darfur, a region in Sudan, was permitted to fly home after an African union summit which was held in South Africa before the local court had made a decision to hand him over to the international Criminal Court or not.
As a member of the ICC, South Africa is forced to enforce warrants from the tribunal based in Hague. The Sudanese president’s exit caused international outcry and the separation of the global and African Powers who are not pleased by ICC’s operation within the African continent. This is because ICC, which was set up to try the worst of crimes when the local court fails, has only charged Africa.
Members of parliament were urged by Mmusi Maimane, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, to set up an urgent meeting to question the president’s actions regarding Bashir’s case. In opposition to the motion, Lindiwe Zulu of the ruling African National Congress told lawmakers that the only reason why the motion had been tabled in parliament was to discredit the ruling party as well as to undermine the role of the ANC-led South African government in the attempts to create a peaceful continent. She added that, “The ANC-led government has always respected the rule of law.”
