By Ben Mclennan
British businessman Mark Thatcher answered two lists of questions from Equatorial Guinea prosecutors on Friday about his involvement in a botched coup attempt in the central African country.
A relaxed looking Thatcher appeared before a Cape Town magistrate in the Wynberg magistrate's court to give his replies to the 43 questions.
His answers appeared to add no new information to what was already known about his role in the coup.
| 'I am not sure I understand the question, to be honest with you' |
The questioning is taking place under South African legislation on international co-operation in criminal matters.
Thatcher, who lived in South Africa from 1995 until recently, last month pleaded guilty to helping finance the coup bid, and paid a R3-million fine.
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He replied simply "no" to a number of the questions, many of which were phrased so badly as to be almost incomprehensible.
At one point he said to magistrate Helen Allman: "I am not sure I understand the question, to be honest with you."
One of the questions was: "Its (sic) an established fact that you have been arrested once in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the crime of trafficking in Arms, can you tell us what kind of Arms is been refer (sic), the date, month and the year of the incident?, and what was the outcome of the incident?"
Thatcher answered: "I have never been arrested on any matter in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
He said he had met Simon Mann (Spelt in the questions as Maan) on several occasions since they were introduced by a mutual friend at a Cape Town Waterfront pub in 1997.
The most recent meeting was in February last year at Sandton Square in Johannesburg. Thatcher said he recollected Mann had been advised his wife was pregnant "and we met to celebrate that fact".
Mann is serving a four-year jail term in Zimbabwe for his role in the coup attempt.
Thatcher said to his recollection he discussed Equatorial Guinea with Mann on two other occasions.
"I discussed Equatorial Guinea in the context of the West Africa region and I have no recollection of talking about anybody specifically in Equatorial Guinea".
He said Mann once asked him to attend a meeting with another coup plotter Nick du Toit (now in jail in Malabo, the Equato Guinean capital) to discuss the purchase of two civilian helicopters.
Mann told him the aircraft were for support of a mining operation in Sudan.
Thatcher said he subsequently paid about $275 000 (about R1,6-million) to an aviation company as a guarantee for the charter of a Denel-owned helicopter which was flown to Namibia, then returned to South Africa.
"It is a mystery to me why I should be required to give evidence as a witness in a trial which ended four months ago," Thatcher said, referring to the now completed trial of a group of mercenaries in Equatorial Guinea.
"However I am very happy to have had the opportunity to do so, and do so under oath, because as you have observed, from the answers to the questions it is patently clear that I had nothing to do with the financing of any coup in Equatorial Guinea."
He said that merely because he met some of the individuals about whom questions were asked did not mean he had any business relationship with them.
Asked about speculation that he was considering moving to Switzerland, he said: "You've got it absolutely right: speculation. I'm looking to buy another house in South Africa."
"In Cape Town?" asked a journalist.
"In Cape Town. Is there anywhere else?"
His Constantia home was recently sold. - Sapa
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