Beer, biltong for freed Guinea plotter
4 November 2009, 10:08
By Graeme Hosken
Military Reporter
Beer, biltong and a Chevrolet. This is what convicted South African mercenary Niek du Toit is looking forward to when he returns home to South Africa this week.
That, and being able to walk his daughter, Marilise, down the aisle on her wedding day. "I know it is soon. It could be this weekend or the next. I just can't remember. We did not know what day it was when we were inside. We were just taking one day at a time," said an emotional Du Toit on Tuesday night.
Speaking from the compound of the South African embassy in Equatorial Guinea's capital, Malabo, Du Toit, in an exclusive interview, said it was by God's grace and President Jacob Zuma's efforts that he and his four fellow mercenaries were free.
Du Toit, along with his three fellow South Africans, Sergio Cardoso, Jose Domingos and George Alerson, and former British SAS soldier Simon Mann, were granted presidential pardons on humanitarian grounds on Tuesday.
The five, who were given 24 hours to get out of the country, were among a 70-man group who took part in a foiled coup to overthrow Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema in 2004.
They were planning on installing that country's opposition leader, Severo Moto.
Sixty-two of the accused, including Mann, who is believed to have cancer, were arrested at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe after landing there to buy weapons with which to execute the coup.
Du Toit, Cardoso, Domingos and Alerson were arrested in Malabo on the country's Bioko Island.
The coup was uncovered when South African authorities alerted their counterparts in Zimbabwe and in Equatorial Guinea.
The attempted coup entangled Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who pleaded guilty in a South African court to unwittingly helping to bankroll the operation. He was fined and given a suspended sentenced.
Du Toit, who on Tuesday night admitted to knowing what they were planning, was sentenced to 34 years imprisonment in the notorious Black Beach prison, while Cardoso, Domingos and Alerson were all sentenced to 17 years' imprisonment.
Mann was extradited from Zimbabwe, where he was imprisoned in Chikurubi Prison, to Equatorial Guinea.
In a cellphone interview, Du Toit said it was fantastic to be free.
"We can't believe it. It doesn't feel real. When they told us we were going home I thought that they were playing a cruel joke on us. In the back of my mind I was worried that they were not going to let us go. Not until we stepped into the embassy did I believe I was coming home," he said.
Refusing to describe the techniques Equatorial Guinea authorities used to extract their "initial" confessions, Du Toit said their five-year ordeal had been hell.
Recalling the hostility towards them by both prisoners and warders, he said it was what they had expected. "We were the invaders - enemies of the state."
For years the five endured abysmal conditions. "It is a real third world African prison where authorities feel nothing for prisoners, not even for their own people."
Given only enough to eat in order to survive, the five, according to Du Toit, quickly turned to God.
"I believe God had a purpose for us. He used us as his tools to make a difference, so that we could help bring about democracy and development, which is what is happening now," he said.
Du Toit, describing how he met Mann and Thatcher through his West Africa businesses, said that not until the final days did he know what he was about to take part in.
"By the time I knew what we were going to do it was too late to turn back. While I did it for adventure, I also did it for the lucrative business investment opportunity I was promised," he said in reference to the exclusive fishing rights he was guaranteed.
On the operation's backers, Du Toit said Mann knew everything about who was involved and exactly who would benefit.
"The only time I met any 'big players' was when I met Thatcher, and that was when I met him for two hours to talk about helicopters he wanted for his business in Sudan.
"Only when we got to Equatorial Guinea did I know exactly what his business opportunities were."
Du Toit firmly believes they were freed because of the forgiving nature of African people.
He said that in the end they were causing more trouble than it was worth for the government by being their prisoners.
"Having to feed us and the pressure from international organisations, such as the Red Cross and UN, made it difficult for them," he said.
For now, says Du Toit, all he is focusing on is coming home.
"All I want is to see my wife, Belinda, sons Jacques and Nicholas, and walk Marilise down the aisle.
"It has been five long hard years and I cannot wait. I never thought I would ever get out.
"We are desperate to get back to South Africa. Even with its crime rate, South Africa is definitely better than what we have endured.
"I am not sure of my future and know I will have to start my life all over again.
"God has helped me before and God will help me again. When you ask God for forgiveness he forgives, and he has forgiven us.
"I have learnt my lesson and am not going to burn my fingers again on the same flame," he said, when asked if he would ever return to mercenary work.
Military Reporter
Beer, biltong and a Chevrolet. This is what convicted South African mercenary Niek du Toit is looking forward to when he returns home to South Africa this week.
That, and being able to walk his daughter, Marilise, down the aisle on her wedding day. "I know it is soon. It could be this weekend or the next. I just can't remember. We did not know what day it was when we were inside. We were just taking one day at a time," said an emotional Du Toit on Tuesday night.
Speaking from the compound of the South African embassy in Equatorial Guinea's capital, Malabo, Du Toit, in an exclusive interview, said it was by God's grace and President Jacob Zuma's efforts that he and his four fellow mercenaries were free.
Du Toit, along with his three fellow South Africans, Sergio Cardoso, Jose Domingos and George Alerson, and former British SAS soldier Simon Mann, were granted presidential pardons on humanitarian grounds on Tuesday.
The five, who were given 24 hours to get out of the country, were among a 70-man group who took part in a foiled coup to overthrow Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema in 2004.
They were planning on installing that country's opposition leader, Severo Moto.
Sixty-two of the accused, including Mann, who is believed to have cancer, were arrested at Harare International Airport in Zimbabwe after landing there to buy weapons with which to execute the coup.
Du Toit, Cardoso, Domingos and Alerson were arrested in Malabo on the country's Bioko Island.
The coup was uncovered when South African authorities alerted their counterparts in Zimbabwe and in Equatorial Guinea.
The attempted coup entangled Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who pleaded guilty in a South African court to unwittingly helping to bankroll the operation. He was fined and given a suspended sentenced.
Du Toit, who on Tuesday night admitted to knowing what they were planning, was sentenced to 34 years imprisonment in the notorious Black Beach prison, while Cardoso, Domingos and Alerson were all sentenced to 17 years' imprisonment.
Mann was extradited from Zimbabwe, where he was imprisoned in Chikurubi Prison, to Equatorial Guinea.
In a cellphone interview, Du Toit said it was fantastic to be free.
"We can't believe it. It doesn't feel real. When they told us we were going home I thought that they were playing a cruel joke on us. In the back of my mind I was worried that they were not going to let us go. Not until we stepped into the embassy did I believe I was coming home," he said.
Refusing to describe the techniques Equatorial Guinea authorities used to extract their "initial" confessions, Du Toit said their five-year ordeal had been hell.
Recalling the hostility towards them by both prisoners and warders, he said it was what they had expected. "We were the invaders - enemies of the state."
For years the five endured abysmal conditions. "It is a real third world African prison where authorities feel nothing for prisoners, not even for their own people."
Given only enough to eat in order to survive, the five, according to Du Toit, quickly turned to God.
"I believe God had a purpose for us. He used us as his tools to make a difference, so that we could help bring about democracy and development, which is what is happening now," he said.
Du Toit, describing how he met Mann and Thatcher through his West Africa businesses, said that not until the final days did he know what he was about to take part in.
"By the time I knew what we were going to do it was too late to turn back. While I did it for adventure, I also did it for the lucrative business investment opportunity I was promised," he said in reference to the exclusive fishing rights he was guaranteed.
On the operation's backers, Du Toit said Mann knew everything about who was involved and exactly who would benefit.
"The only time I met any 'big players' was when I met Thatcher, and that was when I met him for two hours to talk about helicopters he wanted for his business in Sudan.
"Only when we got to Equatorial Guinea did I know exactly what his business opportunities were."
Du Toit firmly believes they were freed because of the forgiving nature of African people.
He said that in the end they were causing more trouble than it was worth for the government by being their prisoners.
"Having to feed us and the pressure from international organisations, such as the Red Cross and UN, made it difficult for them," he said.
For now, says Du Toit, all he is focusing on is coming home.
"All I want is to see my wife, Belinda, sons Jacques and Nicholas, and walk Marilise down the aisle.
"It has been five long hard years and I cannot wait. I never thought I would ever get out.
"We are desperate to get back to South Africa. Even with its crime rate, South Africa is definitely better than what we have endured.
"I am not sure of my future and know I will have to start my life all over again.
"God has helped me before and God will help me again. When you ask God for forgiveness he forgives, and he has forgiven us.
"I have learnt my lesson and am not going to burn my fingers again on the same flame," he said, when asked if he would ever return to mercenary work.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Pretoria News on November 04, 2009
Pretoria
