Namibian said to have flown ‘mercenaries’ seized in Zim

ONE of the pilots of a plane seized in Zimbabwe on Sunday with suspected mercenaries aboard is said to be a Namibian who farms near the Windhoek International Airport.

Hendrik Hamman has been identified so far as the only Namibian among the pilots, though pilots in Windhoek yesterday said they knew no person of that name among their ranks. The Zimbabwean government said 18 Namibians were among the 64 suspected mercenaries believed to have been on their way to Equatorial Guinea to overthrow the government there.Many have been described as former Battalion 32 members.Battalion 32 was an elite outfit of the former South African Defence Force (SADF).Equatorial Guinea announced on Tuesday that it had arrested 15 South Africans in connection with an attempted coup d’état.But Logo Logistics, the British company that was flying the men into Harare, said that, although they had military experience, the alleged mercenaries were on contract to four mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The South African newspaper Beeld said the group had handed over US$180 000 to buy weapons from state-linked arms manufacturer Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) before their arrest.No weapons were found aboard the plane, but the authorities in Harare identified military equipment as having been found on the plane, including wire cutters, hammers, boots and heavy-duty clothing.While Beeld described Hamman as a Namibian farmer, several pilots in Windhoek said they did not know him.A former SADF pilot said Hamman was an ex-Air Force colleague, but that he lived and operated transport planes from South Africa.Beeld said Hamman previously flew for the disbanded mercenary firm Executive Outcomes, using a plane similar to the Boeing 727-100 impounded in Harare.His fate and that of the 18 Namibians, 20 South Africans, 23 Angolans, two Congolese (DRC) and one Zimbabwean with a South African passport are unclear.The dozens of foreigners held in Zimbabwe on suspicion of being mercenaries could face the death penalty, Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge said yesterday.Mudenge told a news briefing: “They are going to face the severest punishment available in our statutes, including capital punishment.We will give them all the rights they are entitled to.”According to BBC-TV news last night, the 64 are due to appear in court today.Zimbabwe detained the 64 men after seizing a U.S.-registered cargo plane which officials said was carrying “military materiel”.Reuters quoted Zimbabwean authorities as saying they had also arrested a man identified as Simon Mann, a former member of the Britain’s Special Air Service elite forces, and two other men who were at the airport to meet the plane when it landed in Harare on Sunday.Mudenge said Zimbabwe was in contact with the governments of Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.”We are going about it deliberately and we are going to liaise with our friends in Equatorial Guinea …with our friends in South Africa,” Mudenge said.”Apparently this was not one mission …After the diversion in Equatorial Guinea, they were going to the DRC.”Foreign Ministry officials in Pretoria have said any South Africans involved in mercenary activities were breaking South African law.The Zimbabwean government said 18 Namibians were among the 64 suspected mercenaries believed to have been on their way to Equatorial Guinea to overthrow the government there.Many have been described as former Battalion 32 members.Battalion 32 was an elite outfit of the former South African Defence Force (SADF).Equatorial Guinea announced on Tuesday that it had arrested 15 South Africans in connection with an attempted coup d’état.But Logo Logistics, the British company that was flying the men into Harare, said that, although they had military experience, the alleged mercenaries were on contract to four mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The South African newspaper Beeld said the group had handed over US$180 000 to buy weapons from state-linked arms manufacturer Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) before their arrest.No weapons were found aboard the plane, but the authorities in Harare identified military equipment as having been found on the plane, including wire cutters, hammers, boots and heavy-duty clothing.While Beeld described Hamman as a Namibian farmer, several pilots in Windhoek said they did not know him.A former SADF pilot said Hamman was an ex-Air Force colleague, but that he lived and operated transport planes from South Africa.Beeld said Hamman previously flew for the disbanded mercenary firm Executive Outcomes, using a plane similar to the Boeing 727-100 impounded in Harare.His fate and that of the 18 Namibians, 20 South Africans, 23 Angolans, two Congolese (DRC) and one Zimbabwean with a South African passport are unclear.The dozens of foreigners held in Zimbabwe on suspicion of being mercenaries could face the death penalty, Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge said yesterday.Mudenge told a news briefing: “They are going to face the severest punishment available in our statutes, including capital punishment.We will give them all the rights they are entitled to.”According to BBC-TV news last night, the 64 are due to appear in court today.Zimbabwe detained the 64 men after seizing a U.S.-registered cargo plane which officials said was carrying “military materiel”.Reuters quoted Zimbabwean authorities as saying they had also arrested a man identified as Simon Mann, a former member of the Britain’s Special Air Service elite forces, and two other men who were at the airport to meet the plane when it landed in Harare on Sunday.Mudenge said Zimbabwe was in contact with the governments of Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.”We are going about it deliberately and we are going to liaise with our friends in Equatorial Guinea …with our friends in South Africa,” Mudenge said.”Apparently this was not one mission …After the diversion in Equatorial Guinea, they were going to the DRC.”Foreign Ministry officials in Pretoria have said any South Africans involved in mercenary activities were breaking South African law.