Bruce's List
ICC withdrawal: SA moves from deplorable to despicable
The ICC: For Zuma it’s not about immunity. It’s about impunity.
Bruce’s List: A guide to informed reads. Last Friday President Jacob Zuma’s administration took SA into a new political category, leaping almost effortlessly from the deplorable to the despicable. His foreign minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, it emerged, had written to the United Nations announcing SA’s intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). In a follow-up, justice minister Michael Masutha said the withdrawal was necessary so that SA could conduct conventional diplomacy, which included doing business with leaders who face charges from the ICC, including Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who was forced to flee SA last year to avoid arrest during a summit of African leaders in Johannesburg. Conventional diplomacy, he said, implied that leaders charged by the ICC should have immunity when they were in our country.What he, in fact, means is not immunity but that they should be able to travel here with impunity. It is a shocking and vile decision which will m...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.