Ex-SAS officer pleads guilty to weapons charge

MAN in prison garb

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• Zim 70 to face trial in July

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• 'Mercenaries' planned jail escape

• 'Mercenary' plane seized in Zimbabwe

• Mugabe officials had deal with mercenaries

• South Africa, Zim trained mercenaries

By Stella Mapenzauswa

A FORMER SAS officer accused by Zimbabwe of leading 70 suspected mercenaries has pleaded guilty to attempting to possess dangerous weapons, a charge which could bring a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Simon Mann, appearing in a special court convened in Harare's top security prison, also on Wednesday entered a limited guilty plea to a second charge of purchasing weapons but insisted that the deal never went through.

Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe quickly convicted Mann on the first charge.

Mann has been identified as the leader of a group of 70 men detained since March in Zimbabwe on charges of plotting a coup in oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.

A separate group of 15 men, including eight South Africans, is being held in Equatorial Guinea and is expected to face trial on similar charges soon.

Officials in both countries say the men were in a joint operation to topple Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo -- a plot which was allegedly foiled when Zimbabwe swooped on the main group as their plane landed at Harare's airport.

Sixty-seven of the Harare detainees pleaded guilty and were convicted on Tuesday of contravening Zimbabwe's immigration and aviation laws. Their lawyers say they expect more charges against the entire group.

Mann -- who founded the security consultancy Executive Outcomes in the 1990s -- is seen as the chief defendant, however, and on Wednesday state prosecutors attempted to show that he contracted to buy weaponry from the state-run Zimbabwe Defence Industries.

Prosecutor Stephen Musona called as a witness ZDI marketing manager Hope Mutize, who said both Mann and Nick du Toit, one of the men held in Equatorial Guinea, had approached him to buy weapons.

A paper quotation for the purchase, which Mutize said was signed by all three men, was entered as evidence.

"What we must look at is the fact that it is common cause that money changed hands and that money was for the purchase of purchasing firearms," Musona's colleague Lawrence Phiri said later in the state's final submission on the matter.

"It becomes clear that in so far as he was concerned, the transaction was complete."

Defence lawyer Jonathan Samkange argued that Mann had never actually purchased the weapons -- a distinction which could be important when the magistrate considers a sentence.

"There had been no delivery. The purchasers had not even inspected the weapons. It is my respectful submission that in this case there was only a mere attempt. Indeed an attempt of a very low degree," he said.

All 70 defendants were expected back in court on Thursday, but Guvamombe also asked attorneys to begin looking at court dates next week -- a signal that final resolution to the much watched case may be some time off.
Reuters
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