Mercenaries acquitted in 'Wonga Coup' case

Eight mercenaries accused of playing a role in the so-called "Wonga Coup" - an inept attempt by white expatriates to overthrow the dictator of a tiny oil-rich African nation - were found not guilty yesterday.

A South African court dismissed the charges after a trial in which their lawyers had argued that the South African government had given tacit approval for the coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea, Africa's third-largest oil producer.

Several men have been tried and found guilty for their involvement in the affair, including Sir Mark Thatcher, who was fined and received a suspended sentence in 2005.

He admitted to bankrolling the purchase of a helicopter, which was to be used in the coup attempt, although Baroness Thatcher's son insisted he had no idea the helicopter was to be used to help overthrow a government.

The alleged coup leader, Simon Mann, an old Etonian and former SAS officer, is serving a four-year jail term in Zimbabwe for buying weapons without the appropriate licence. Mr Mann is fighting an extradition battle with the authorities in Equatorial Guinea who want him to be tried there. Mann is due to be released in May on good behaviour.

Whether he would receive a fair trial in the tiny west African state is another matter. There are 11 men serving jail sentences in Equatorial Guinea for their alleged role in the coup, including one of the supposed ringleaders, Nick Du Toit. Before and during the trial, the men were given limited access to their defence team and were severely tortured.

President Teodoro Obiang's regime is one of the most oppressive in Africa. Opposition politicians are routinely held and tortured in the notorious Black Beach prison where they are chained to the wall, beaten on the soles of their feet and have their genitals electrocuted. The tiny country of half a million people has the highest per capita income in Africa because of the tax revenues from Western oil companies. But Equatorial Guinea's oil wealth has not raised living standards for its population, merely lined the pockets of its leaders.

Obiang's regime has few supporters on the continent, and South Africa, as well as the UK, was aware of the 2004 coup plot before it went ahead. The judge in yesterday's case said the South African secret service's handling of the operation was "unfortunate".

Mann and Du Toit aimed to lure Obiang to the airport in Malabo, the capital, to inspect a fleet of new 4x4s they were delivering for him. The plan was to kidnap him and overthrow his government, installing the exiled opposition leader, Severo Moto, as president.

But Mann and his band of 64 alleged mercenaries were arrested in Harare, where Mann was due to pick up a delivery of weapons. Two days later, Equatorial Guinea revealed that they had arrested 15 men there, including Du Toit. Sir Mark's involvement was revealed some months later when documents listing men who had donated to the cause was leaked. Sir Mark handed over $275,000 (£140,000) for a helicopter which he claimed he thought was going to be used for an air ambulance.

During the trial in Pretoria, the court heard how Sir Mark had a lot of "nervous twitches" when he met one of the coup plotters to discuss the financing of the helicopter. Crause Steyl, a state witness who admitted supplying the plotters with mercenaries said: "He was concerned once the helicopter was acquired on whose name it was going to be registered - anyone but his."