March 11 2004

This week saw some South Africans being arrested and detained in Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea. I have no doubt in my mind that these guys were on a mission to abduct the criminal in charge of Equatorial Guinea.

Here are 2 articles published in The Witness, a Natal paper (read it and weep) -

Hired gun reveals coup plot

Bid to abduct Guinea leader

The leader of a group of suspected mercenaries arrested in Equatorial Guinea said on television on Wednesday their mission was to abduct President Teodoro Obiang Nguema and force him into exile.

"It wasn't a question of taking the life of the head of state, but of spiriting him away, taking him to Spain and forcing him into exile and then installing the government in exile of Severo Moto Nsa," said the man, presented under the name of Nick du Toit and earlier identified on radio as a 48-year-old South African.

Obiang, who came to power in the small west African nation in a 1979 coup and is feuding with members of his family who control the government in the oil-rich, highly corrupt state, on Tuesday announced the arrest of a group of 15 mercenaries he said wanted to overthrow his regime.

The 15 were found to be in possession of maps of the capital, Malabo, and satellite telephones, Obiang said, adding they were linked to the planeload of suspected mercenaries detained in Zimbabwe. Obiang pointed the finger at Moto, the leader of the country's government in exile, who is based in former colonial power Spain. But Moto denied any involvement. Obiang said the plot was funded by "enemy powers" and multinational companies. He thanked South Africa and Angola for warning him of the plot.

In Pretoria, President Thabo Mbeki's spokesman Bheki Khumalo denied that there was any conversation between Mbeki and Obiang before the plane was apprehended.

"They [SA law enforcement agencies] contacted Equatorial Guinea to make sure that no unconstitutional change of government takes place in that country," Khumalo said.

Moto's government in exile said he "has at no time left Spain" and "categorically denied" any links to the alleged plot. Moto told Spanish radio station Onda Cero that Obiang is an "authentic cannibal" who "systematically eats his political rivals".

"A while back he paid millions to those they call marabou [sorcerers] to tell him if his power base was safe. They told him that to keep his grip on power he had to kill people close to him. "Obiang wants me to go back to Guinea and eat my testicles. That's clear," he told Onda Cero. Obiang "is a real demon among an extraordinarily peaceful population". "He has just devoured a police commissioner. I say 'devoured' as this commissioner was buried without his testicles and brain. We are in the hands of a cannibal," Moto said. Moto's government statement added his administration wants to see a peaceful election and an end to the excesses of the Obiang regime.

"We are seeking an end to the assassinations, humiliations, arrests and the torture carried out by Obiang Nguema's regime and we are calling for an electoral campaign without violence," the statement read.

Legislative and municipal elections are scheduled to be held in Equatorial Guinea on April 25.

Meanwhile, a diplomatic source said the men arrested in Zimbabwe are all former SA Defence Force soldiers from 32 Battalion, based in Namibia during South Africa's border war there. The source said the plane had indeed been transporting mercenaries to Equatorial Guinea, and it stopped over in Zimbabwe to pick up weapons from a military depot.

Beeld alleges the weapons were manufactured by Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI), which it alleges was paid U.S.$180 000. "So I suppose you could say there were no weapons on the plane before it got to Zimbabwe," the source said. Sixty-four men, including 20 South Africans, 18 Namibians, 23 Angolans, two DRC citizens and a Zimbabwean traveling on a South African passport have been arrested.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said on Wednesday that her department is in no rush to assist the arrested men in either country. "They are not exactly innocent travelers finding themselves in a difficult situation," she said. However, Foreign Affairs officials will find out what extradition treaties, if any, are in place.

Zimbabwe has threatened the men with execution and they would almost certainly face the death penalty in Equatorial Guinea, which has no independent judicial system. Despite the latest revelations, Charles Burrow, a senior executive at Logo Logistics - the plane's owner - maintains its all a "dreadful misunderstanding". Burrow insists the alleged mercenaries are security guards en route to mining operations in the DRC. Zimbabwe said on Wednesday U.S., British and Spanish spy agencies helped the men.

"They were aided by the British secret service, that is MI6, American Central Intelligence Agency and the Spanish secret service," Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi told a news conference. Zimbabwean authorities got the information from Simon Mann, who was detained in Zimbabwe on Sunday as he waited to meet the plane, he added. He said Mann is a former member of Britain's elite commando Special Air Service (SAS). U.S. and Spanish officials denied the allegation, while a British official declined to comment.
Publish Date: 11 March 2004
Source: REUTERS-SAPA-AFNEWS24

ERIKA GIBSON

Little hope of justice for SA men

Equatorial Guinea system brutal

Chances of a fair trial or even proper legal representation are bleak for 15 suspected mercenaries who are in custody in Equatorial Guinea. The penalty for high treason in that country is summary execution.

The men, including seven South Africans, were arrested this weekend in the Equatorial Guinea capital Malabo. Their leader, Nick du Toit, said on Wednesday they were hired to abduct President Obiang Nguema and force him into exile. They are linked with the group arrested in Zimbabwe, who apparently were on their way to assist in the coup d'etat.

A report by the International Bar Council's human rights institute, which was drawn up last year, depicts a country with a most unfair legal system.

Prisoners don't even have the right to legal representation during a trial. The country's bar council has been disbanded and there is no division between the authority of the government and justice. During the high-profile trial of 144 previous coup d'etat plotters some months ago, the accused were subjected to extreme torture in an attempt to extract evidence.

International criticism resulted in a probe into the country's legal system by the International Bar Council. The council found that the executive authority of Nguema totally controls justice and judges don't have independence. Freedom of speech, ironically entrenched in the constitution, is so limited that the country does not have one newspaper. Bookshops and public libraries are also absent.

Apparently this is a remnant of former president Macias Nguema, the first president since independence from Spain in 1968. The former president closed schools and other educational institutions because he believed they were part of the evils of colonialism. He also feared that more educated people would threaten his rule. Former president Nguema was executed in 1979 by his nephew, the current president, in a coup d'etat. The current president has been the ruler since then and has banned all opposition parties.

The bar association's report mentions torture, no guarantee to a fair trial, a general lack of freedom of speech and association, as well as poor prison conditions.

Aggravating the situation are a lack of standard qualifications for judges and lawyers. The legal system operates amid witchcraft, association of some dubious characters, huge corruption and bribery.
Publish Date: 11 March 2004

Scary stuff, frightening stuff, unbelievable stuff! And our government supports this man? The same government who's constitution rocked the world as being the most advanced and fair? Will it finally dawn on first world countries what a stuff-up the ANC government is? Will they eventually loose their blindfolds? Mbeki always maintained his "quiet diplomacy" towards Zimbabwe will eventually pay off, now he has shown his true colours. The white man means nothing in this country, and even less in foreign countries.

Especially white soldiers, the heroes of my days. The guys who fought for what they believed in. The guys who had compassion and respect for human life. The humans who made mistakes from time to time. A pact is a pact, but considering Mbeki's NEPAD plan, he is still prepared to put all this on the line for Obiang Nguema.

It will be a sad day if NEPAD falls down, but this is enough. And with joker Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in the fold, these guys have no chance. It's a sad reminder of the AWB's futile attack on a neighbouring "state" which seems like yesterday. What state is our Foreign Affairs in if they have to "find out what extradition treaties, if any, are in place."?

Maybe this will "swing" some of those "undecided" voters to vote right this time around. If anyone ever doubted the South African government's stance towards the white people in this country, here is your proof. And for the world to ignore the sick puppy that Obiang Nguema is, shows what a sick world we live in.

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