The government of South Africa protested, claiming he had diplomatic immunity and was in South Africa on invitation of the African Union, not South Africa.

The full hearing commenced, with South Africa arguing he was possibly “shopping.” The court ordered a recess to determine where, in fact, he was.

Messages and tweets flew around — including from journalists camped out at all possible exit points. His plane was there. Until it wasn’t.

Propagandist Sudanese media proclaimed his triumphant return. Crowds of praise-singers were assembled, captured live for all to see, literally weeping at his safe return from the near-clutches of that evil, imperialist International Criminal Court. Courtesy of its African civil society lackeys.

The praise-singers’ tears were almost convincing as a show of supposedly populist support. Were we unaware, that is, of how successful the recent election boycott in Sudan had been.

The Sudanese president is an emperor without any clothes on, elected on the strength of a mere 30 per cent voter turnout. Hardly a claim to legitimacy or an embodiment of his people’s sovereignty.

ICC jurisdiction

Later, more independent Sudanese media reported South African peacekeepers in Darfur had literally been surrounded by the Sudanese military while everybody waited with bated breath for the court decision. The South African military has denied these claims. As has the United Nations.

No such knife had been held to the throat of South African President Jacob Zuma! Of course not! South Africa’s decision to let him leave was a justified sovereign decision. As evidenced by the African National Congress’s strong statement condemning (yet again) that evil, imperialist ICC that serves only at the behest of global power for effecting regime-change in the name of the responsibility to protect.

The responsibility to protect. The AU’s Constitutive Act boldly proclaims the AU has the right to intervene in a member state in situations of international crimes — the very same crimes under the ICC’s jurisdiction — crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. But the AU was not the guarantor of the responsibility to protect this past week.

The SALC are the real heroes and heroines of the story. For acting in defence of the people of Darfur. For standing up for their own Constitution. It is hard to believe the ANC was once a liberation party from its statement in the aftermath.

Shame on South Africa — which, not too long ago, diplomatically advised the Sudanese president it would be best not for him to attend South Africa’s presidential inauguration precisely because it would be then obliged to arrest him.

And shame on the AU for ignoring its own Constitutive Act in favour of a resolution protecting the wicked amongst Africa’s leadership and perverting today’s meanings of legitimacy and sovereignty.

L. Muthoni Wanyeki is Amnesty International’s regional director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes