Why should we be surprised by President Jacob Zuma and his government egg-dancing around the presence in our country of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir? Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court to answer to allegations of crimes against humanity, and war crimes.It should not shock us if we learn today that Bashir is safely back at home, thanks to another clever move by Zuma to help him escape accountability.The alacrity with which we barred the Dalai Lama from our shores contrasts tellingly with the reception given Bashir, exposing the fickleness of our foreign affairs policy, which is now dictated by outsiders and our factional politics.We are told that Zuma and his cabinet decided to give immunity from arrest or prosecution to all heads of state or government attending the African Union summit in Johannesburg.This decision, and the failure of the government to arrest Bashir immediately on his arrival, tells us that South Africa is not prepared to take the high road and stand by the terms of the Rome Statute, to which it is a signatory.Bashir would not have landed in this country if Zuma had stood his ground and if South Africa knew where it stood on human rights .Our criticisms of the International Criminal Court and its attitudes towards African leaders should not stop us from demanding leadership when some of Africa's leaders violate human rights. It cannot be that we demand of the world what we ourselves fail to do.If the International Criminal Court is a front of Western powers, why are we, ourselves, failing to hold our leaders accountable?If South Africa, Malawi, Egypt and other African countries fail to hold Bashir accountable we cannot expect Africa to advance. The continent's leaders must hold each other accountable.But the despots and the "strong men" on the continent can continue to feel safe, knowing that they are protected by their peers...