Will Omar al-Bashir Be Granted Asylum in Uganda, Handed Over to the ICC or Imprisoned?

"Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction."

 - Erich Fromm

With every new day comes a new tale on ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.

Looking at how things turned out for someone who was ‘larger-than-life’ barely a week ago and had ruled Sudan for three decades, one cannot help but wonder why African leaders cannot learn to surrender power peacefully.

It is only disheartening that a man of such status is now the subject of ridicule and doesn’t even know what lies in wait for him the very next minute.

Will Omar al-Bashir be handed over to the ICC, sent on asylum in Uganda or imprisoned in Sudan? Sadly, there are no better options than these for the one-time Sudanese strong-man.

There have been different speculations from different quarters but only time will reveal the true position of things with the ousted leader.

The AFP claims in a report published some hours ago that Omar al-Bashir has been transferred to a Khartoum prison following his toppling by the army last week.

“Last night, Bashir was transferred to Kober prison in Khartoum,” the source said without revealing his name for security reasons.

Meanwhile, a few hours before that, reports making the rounds and published by major mainstream media outlets revealed that Uganda would consider granting asylum to ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.

"If Uganda is approached to grant asylum to Bashir it is an issue that can be considered at the highest level of our leadership," state minister for foreign affairs Henry Okello Oryem.

He said that as a result of Bashir's key role in mediating a peace deal in neighboring South Sudan, "his asylum in Uganda is what the government of Uganda can consider.”

"Uganda is keenly following the developments in Sudan and we ask the new leadership there to respect the aspirations of the Sudanese people among them peaceful transfer of power to the civilian rule".

Also, it is no news that the former leader is wanted by the International Criminal Court to faces charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the conflict in Darfur.

So, what will it be for Omar al-Bashir?

Only time will tell...

Header Image Credit: TAE file