The government is spending public money to avoid taking responsibility for letting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir leave the country, the DA said on Monday.

“Instead of government being accountable, once again we see more public money being spent on appeals to evade the consequences of unlawful actions,” Democratic Alliance federal council chairperson James Selfe said in a statement.

On Monday the government announced it would appeal the High Court in Pretoria’s ruling, handed down on June 15, that it had to detain al-Bashir while he was still in South Africa for a 2-day African Union summit, and that its failure to do so was unconstitutional.

“The reasons for the appeal will be contained in the affidavit that will be submitted within the prescribed due date,” spokesperson Phumla Williams said in a statement.

Al-Bashir left from Air Force Base Waterkloof on the morning the high court handed down its order for the government to arrest him.

He is wanted by the International Criminal Court to stand trial on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Darfur.

Because South Africa is a signatory to the ICC’s Rome Statute, it has a duty to arrest him and hand him over to the court.

“The DA awaits the submission of the state’s affidavit in which it will attempt to argue itself out of a clear breach of an order of the court,” Selfe said. News24