Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir arrived in Malawi on Thursday for a regional trade summit, in defiance of the international war crimes warrant against him.
Bashir and his 26-member delegation were welcomed with traditional dances and an honour guard of Malawi soldiers, even though the southern African nation has a treaty obligation to arrest him over war crimes committed in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
A foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Malawi would not arrest the Sudanese president.
"Why? He is here as a friend of President Bingu wa Mutharika," Mutharika said, asking not to be named.
Bashir will attend the annual summit of the 19-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which opens Friday in Malawi's capital Lilongwe.
Bashir did not speak to reporters but was rushed to a hotel in downtown Lilongwe.
Bashir is the first sitting president indicted by the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Malawi has ratified the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding document, which obliges the country to arrest him if Bashir enters the country.
But Mutharika said in March that African leaders should not be dragged to The Hague for crimes committed in Africa.
Other leaders expected at the summit are Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Eritrea's Issaias Afeworki, Burundi's Pierre Nkurunziza, and Swazi King Mswati III.
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LIKE EVERY INSTITUTION THE WEST HAS ITS HANDS IN IT ABUSES. THE HAGUE SEEMS TO BE DESIGNED FOR THE FURTHER IMPRISONMENT OF BLACK PEOPLE.AFRICA NEEDS TO ESTABLISH ITS OWN MONETARY SYSTEM ITS OWN JUDICIAL SYSTEM THAT IS FAIR AND DIRECTS ITS ATTENTION TO THE PEOPLE AND THEIR NEEDS. THE ICC IS A COURT THAT IS DESIGNED WITH POWER FOR THE EUROPEAN OVER THE AFRICAN.THIS IS NOT THE WAY FORWARD . AFRICA MUST BE THE MOTHER AND FATHER OF THEIR OWN DESTINY NO OTHER CONTINENT AND PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE JUDICIAL POWER OVER ANY ONE IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT.WHENEVER THE WORLD HAS BECOME FREE OF WESTERN IDEOLOGY AND THEIR HEGEMONY OVER THE PLANET THEN AFRICA MUST STAND AS LEADERS AND DEFENDERS OF THEIR OWN DESTINY.AFRICANS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO TAKE A SECONDARY OR MINORITY ROLE WHEN DEALING WITH OTHER NATIONALITIES AFRICANS SHOULD BE THE ONLY ONE TO DECIDE WHO IS CRIMINAL AND WHO ISNOT WHEN IT COMES TO AFRICA.WE SEE MANY CRIMINAL AND UNETHICAL ROLES PLAYED BY THE WEST ANDTHEY SEEM TO FEEL THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAW. THEY DECIDE WHO IS ABLE TO RUN GOVERNMENTS AND WHO IS CRIMINAL ANDWHOM THEY SHOULD ATTACK.THESE ARE NOT ETHICAL OR HONOURABLE TYPES OF BEHAVIOURS.AFRICA MUST SET ITS OWN CODES OF ETHICS AND WHAT IS DIS HONOURABLE FROM HONOURABLETHESE THINGS MUST BE DECIDED BY ALL AFRICAN LEADERS. AFRICAN LEADERS SHOULD HOLD PRIVATE TALKS WHICH ARE NOT PRIVY TO EUROPEANS OR ANY FORMER COLONIANIST. THIS MUST BETHE SOLE UNDERTAKING OF AFRICANS WITHOUT INFLUINCE OF ANY WESTERN PARTICIPANTS .