Charges still being formulated against ‘mercenaries’

ABOUT 70 suspected mercenaries detained in Zimbabwe have yet to appear in court nearly two weeks after a plane they were travelling in was seized in Harare.

Zimbabwe’s Acting Attorney General Bharat Patel told The Namibian by telephone yesterday that they were completing charges. At the same time, Patel confirmed that the authorities were looking at adding another charge: that of conspiracy to commit murder against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.”There’s a lot of paper work to be done,” said Patel, when asked when the suspects would appear in court.”I don’t know.It’s difficult to say.Hopefully this week.”The 70, among them 28 Namibians, were arrested two Sundays ago.They were allegedly en route to Equatorial Guinea to plot a coup against Mbasogo, whose government had faced accusations of human rights abuse before focus turned to the mercenaries.The Zimbabwe government said it arrested the suspected mercenaries after they allegedly tried to buy weapons from the state arms manufacturer Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI).A former British special forces agent Simon Mann, who has links to self-declared South African and English mercenaries, was said to be the main person behind the trip to Equatorial Guinea.A British company called Logo Logistics said last week that the men were on their way to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where they guard mines.No weapons were found on the impounded plane, but Zimbabwean and Guinean authorities said people detained in both countries had confessed to being part of an alleged coup plot.Patel said the group had already been charged with several counts of breaching the immigration laws, the Firearms Act for carrying unlicensed fire arms and ammunition and under the country’s wide-ranging Public Order and Security Act.Charges against the 70 vary.Patel said they had charged three members of the flight crew, among them a Namibian farmer who lives near the Hosea Kutako International Airport, three supposed ringleaders and 64 “alleged ordinary mercenaries”.Namibians involved in mercenary activities or fighting in foreign wars without the written permission of the Minister of Defence can be charged for violating the country’s military laws.At the same time, Patel confirmed that the authorities were looking at adding another charge: that of conspiracy to commit murder against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.”There’s a lot of paper work to be done,” said Patel, when asked when the suspects would appear in court.”I don’t know.It’s difficult to say.Hopefully this week.”The 70, among them 28 Namibians, were arrested two Sundays ago.They were allegedly en route to Equatorial Guinea to plot a coup against Mbasogo, whose government had faced accusations of human rights abuse before focus turned to the mercenaries.The Zimbabwe government said it arrested the suspected mercenaries after they allegedly tried to buy weapons from the state arms manufacturer Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI).A former British special forces agent Simon Mann, who has links to self-declared South African and English mercenaries, was said to be the main person behind the trip to Equatorial Guinea.A British company called Logo Logistics said last week that the men were on their way to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where they guard mines.No weapons were found on the impounded plane, but Zimbabwean and Guinean authorities said people detained in both countries had confessed to being part of an alleged coup plot.Patel said the group had already been charged with several counts of breaching the immigration laws, the Firearms Act for carrying unlicensed fire arms and ammunition and under the country’s wide-ranging Public Order and Security Act.Charges against the 70 vary.Patel said they had charged three members of the flight crew, among them a Namibian farmer who lives near the Hosea Kutako International Airport, three supposed ringleaders and 64 “alleged ordinary mercenaries”.Namibians involved in mercenary activities or fighting in foreign wars without the written permission of the Minister of Defence can be charged for violating the country’s military laws.