‘You can’t end a war by issuing a piece of paper’ – Expert weighs in on Ramaphosa’s confidential affidavit

Constitutional and international law expert André Thomashausen says President Cyril Ramaphosa‘s confidential affidavit is of a “very high quality” and speaks of the seriousness of the Russia/Ukraine conflict which is the biggest crisis since World War II.

The affidavit, which was made public on Tuesday, claimed arresting President Vladimir Putin if he travelled to South Africa for the Brics summit in August would be a declaration of war with Russia.

The president told the Pretoria High Court in Gauteng that South Africa does not have the capacity nor appetite to wage war with Russia and Putin.

The court ordered Ramaphosa to make public his answering affidavit on the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) application to force government to arrest Putin.

Declaration of war

Speaking to 702, Professor André Thomashausen praised Ramaphosa’s affidavit, and said it should be taken seriously.

“The president’s affidavit is of a far better quality and far higher consistency than the affidavits submitted by the DA, to the point where I thought that the DA doesn’t really care about the legal argument. It is more a political sponge; it is something that the opposition does to be noticed.

“So, what Ramaphosa is really saying with this much abbreviated interim remark about declaration of war is that we cannot conduct serious big international issues, which is the biggest crisis since World War II, with the mindset of a traffic cop by issuing a traffic ticket and putting this ticket on the windscreen of Putin’s official limousine,” Thomashausen said.

ALSO READ: ‘Arresting Putin would be declaration of war with Russia,’ Ramaphosa warns

ICC warrant a piece of paper

Thomashausen added the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant of arrest for Putin is only a “piece of paper”.

“This warrant is a piece of paper, we haven’t issued it and you cannot end a war which is actually threatening to become World War III by issuing a piece of paper. I think Ramaphosa is very right there, because you’ve got far bigger and far more complex heads of state who will always have immunity.

“You cannot go around arresting each other’s head of state unless the country has agreed that this can happen… But Russia has not agreed to this, so the immunity of President Putin cannot be touched. It puts South Africa in a difficult position and it puts the judges in a very difficult position,” Thomashausen said.

‘Government cover up to avoid scrutiny’

DA leader John Steenhuisen welcomed the judgment.

“It is clear that the South African government is making every attempt to obfuscate and cover up this pivotal matter to avoid public scrutiny, and to mask its inability to stand up to warmongers and despots like Vladimir Putin, as should be expected from any human rights-based foreign policy.

“Given the farcical nature of President Ramaphosa’s responding affidavit, it is little wonder that he did not want it to see the light of day. Deploying flimsy arguments which allege that the Russian Federation would declare war on South African should we arrest Vladimir Putin are little more than strawman arguments when the constitutional principle and both domestic and international law make the merits of this case crystal clear,” Steenhuisen said.

What will the ICC do?

Thomashausen said it is unclear what the ICC will do if Putin arrives for the summit in SA, because Ramaphosa also requested an exemption on the arrest of the Russian president in his affidavit.

The matter is expected to be heard in open court on Friday, with the media also being allowed to report on the matter which has garnered international attention.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa ordered to make affidavit on Putin arrest warrant public