On Saturday,  Sudan’s chief prosecutor, Alwaleed Sayed Ahmed, announced charges of corruption against ex-President Omar al-Bashir. This action demonstrates the theatrical game the TMC is willing to engage in to distract attention from their own crimes.

It’s worth noting that Al-Bashir is not being tried for genocide–Al-Bashir is not being surrendered to the ICC. Al-Bashir, an internationally wanted war criminal, is being tried for corruption. In doing so, the TMC is not only attempting to display a sense of renewed accountability and state legitimacy but a display to rid al-Bashir of guilt. In sending the former president to court, the TMC is attempting to close the domestic criminal case of al-Bashir for good.

If Bashir is to be tried, it must be in the ICC for his 10 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including three counts of genocide for the ethnic cleansing of the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa tribes. This corruption trial by the TMC is a ploy to provide Bashir judicial cover. It will not work. Nations, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, and India must stop promoting impunity and the international community should know better now what the cost of impunity can do to the people of Sudan.