Ntshavheni confirms SA seeking legal advice on Putin’s visit after ICC arrest warrant

Minister of the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, on Thursday confirmed that South Africa is seeking legal advice on how to handle the ICC matter and would not comment any further on the subject.

On 17 March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Putin is expected to visit South Africa for the Brics summit in August. If he does, South Africa, as a signatory to the ICC, will be expected to arrest him.

“The legal opinion has not yet been served to Cabinet and Cabinet will express its view when that matter is served by the relevant department which is the Department of International Relations and Cooperation. We will advise accordingly,” said Ntshavheni during a media briefing on the Cabinet meeting that was held on Wednesday, 29 March 2023.

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“We cannot talk about the factors we are considering as yet, because we don’t have the submission as Cabinet on the matter. When we receive the submission, we will then deal with the matter and update,” she said.

South Africa was criticised for a similar situation in 2015 after it failed to arrest then Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. It even led to some within the ANC calling for South Africa to leave the ICC.

Ntshavheni, however, poured cold water on the country’s withdrawal from the ICC.

“Whether South Africa is considering withdrawing from the ICC, you will recall that South African starting to table a bill which was for the withdrawal from the ICC and the governing party went to its national conference to get a resolution not to withdraw and that bill has subsequently been withdrawn about three weeks ago,” she reiterated.

Electricity crisis

The minister started her address by focusing on the country’s environmental issues and the load shedding crisis, stating that the new minister of electricity, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, has visited 14 of the country’s power stations to get insight into the challenges facing Eskom. He was also there to assess the conditions at each power station and engage with the workers at each site.

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She also touched on the draft electricity amendment bill that would strengthen the rule of regulation authority, Nersa, saying that government would request that the bill be expediated. The deputy president is engaging with on the expediting of not only the electricity amendment bill but a number of bills that are a priority for the country.

Thabo Bester issue

Also notable, was her comments on the Thabo Bester issue. Minister Ntshavheni described it as an embarrassing situation.

“It is an embarrassing situation that a convicted criminal with a sentence to life and 75 years escapes from prison, and that is why Cabinet has instructed law enforcement to make sure that he gets recaptured as soon as possible but also to make sure that everybody who was involved in assisting and aiding him or was negligent in any form or manner, must face consequences including those who have already been dismissed from the correctional service centre.

ALSO READ: Thabo Bester: Correctional Services concedes G4S boss lost control of Mangaung prison

“Government has directed the Department of Correctional Services to ensure that they fast track the takeover of those correctional facilities. You will recall that the institution from which fugitive Thabo Bester escaped is operated by G4S and we have instructed that the two centres operated by the private companies must be taken over as speedily as possible.

She confirmed that earlier on Thursday morning, the Department of Correctional Services advised that they have started with mechanisms to prepare for the takeover of those prisons and have already served notices that they are not going to renew their contract with them for the management of those correctional centres.

“We are going to make sure incidents of this nature do not repeat itself,” she said.