Mbalula: Western Cape Premier has no authority to arrest Putin 

PHUTI MOSOMANE

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says Western Cape Premier Allan Winde does not have the authority to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mbalula made the comments in response to Winde’s announcement on Thursday that the provincial police, including the Cape Town metro, would execute an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Putin if he ever sets foot in the Western Cape.

Putin has reportedly accepted the invitation to attend an in-person BRICS summit in South Africa in August.

“[Western Cape Premier] Allan Winde doesn’t have powers to stop anyone coming to this country. The Western Cape is a province – and not a country – under a unitary state,” said Mbalula in response to Winde’s comments on Thursday.

Analysts say the issuing of an international arrest warrant and war crimes charges against the leader of a major world power and a permanent member of the United