Simon Mann testifies at his trial in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
The old Etonian, who is accused of leading a team of mercenaries destined for
the country, described the son of the former Prime Minister Lady Thatcher as
central to a plot to depose President Teodoro Obiang Nguema and demanded
that he be brought to justice.
In four hours of testimony at a court in the west African country's capital
Malabo, Mr Mann claimed that Sir Mark, an old friend, was recruited on to a "management
team" that funded and plotted the doomed 2004 attempt hatched, he said,
by the London-based businessman Ely Calil and the oil-rich country's
self-proclaimed opposition leader Severo Moto, who lives in exile in Spain.
Mr Mann, 55, said he had introduced Sir Mark to Mr Calil - who he claimed was
the "boss" of the plot - as a possible financier but Sir Mark's
place in the hierarchy of the organisation of plotters became higher than
his own among the five men "in charge of the operation".
"He paid around $350,000," Mr Mann alleged. "But he was more
than just an investor. He came on board completely as part of the management
team."
In 2005 Sir Mark was given a four-year suspended sentence and fined after
pleading guilty in a South African court to paying for a helicopter. He said
he had no knowledge that it was to be used in the coup.
Sir Mark has strenuously denied Mr Mann's subsequent allegations ever since.
Mr Calil also denies any role in the plot.
Addressing the court on Wednesday, Mr Mann attempted to persuade the judges
that he was just one of many players in the plot. He appeared to lose his
composure only once, when asked if he agreed with the sentence of 30 years
for his crime demanded by prosecutors. "I don't agree with that,"
he stammered and then issued an anguished "please", before
launching into testimony littered with the names of his alleged
co-conspirators.
He said that Mr Calil, a Lebanese-born businessman brought him in to execute
the plan. Mr Mann claimed that Mr Calil sought him out after hearing about
his exploits in Angola and Sierra Leone, where he had run mercenaries in
civil conflicts during the 1990s.
He claimed that during a meeting between the two men in 2003, Mr Calil had
remarked on Equatorial Guinea: "Now there's a place I would like to be
king for a day."
Mr Mann said he was later introduced to Mr Moto, who was to be installed as
the new head of state after the coup.
Mr Mann said he had been lured into the plot with the promise of huge
financial rewards and convinced that the people of oil-rich Equatorial
Guinea needed a change in government as they lived in poverty. "The
first reason I agreed was for money, but secondly because I believed it was
right," he said.
He outlined the 10 months that preceded his arrest in Zimbabwe in March 2004,
when he and a plane full of mercenaries were stopped at Harare airport en
route to Equatorial Guinea to carry out the coup, describing the planning,
financing, and how he became aware of the support of various governments
across the world.
"I was told by Calil that the Spanish government had promised Moto that
in the event of a coup they would immediately, the following morning, give
international recognition to Moto and send their Civil Guard to Equatorial
Guinea to assist him," Mr Mann said, adding that a deadline of March
14, 2004 - the date of the Spanish general election - was given, after which
the government could not guarantee its support.
South Africa had also given the operation the "green light", but "would
never admit but it was an official operation".
He claimed that some US officials and oil companies had also given their tacit
blessing for the plan.
There was an audible intake of breath from the gallery as Mr Mann claimed the
plotters had help from within the government of Equatorial Guinea itself. He
denied he was planning to assassinate the president and start a guerrilla
war. "I said I would not do that on ethical grounds," he said.
Instead, he expected a "palace coup" to have taken place while he
was en route from Zimbabwe to Malabo, where he would be welcomed.
"We were expecting a great deal of help from local people. I understand
the President's guard is 300-strong and then there's the army. How could I
expect to overpower them with just 80 men? I was there simply to protect
Moto while he formed his new government," he said.
"I think the people who are seriously involved and have not faced justice
should do so. I've been in prison for four years and I'm not the same man."
Finally, he apologised. "I'm very, very sorry for what I tried to do and
I'm very happy that we failed. Especially now I am here and have met some of
your people."
On Monday, President Nguema had said that is Mr Mann was seen to be
co-operating with the court, clemency would be considered.
Simon Mann testifies at his trial in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea 
