Article Search

 'We're free because of Zuma'
    November 04 2009 at 07:21AM Get IOL on your
mobile at m.iol.co.za

Submit your comment

By Graeme Hosken and Peter Fabricius

President Jacob Zuma played a pivotal role in the freeing of convicted South African mercenary Niek du Toit and his four accomplices from a notorious Equatorial Guinea prison.

This was revealed in an exclusive interview with Du Toit hours after he, along with coup plotter Simon Mann, were freed from Black Beach Prison yesterday.

Du Toit last night said that it was by God's grace and the intervention of the South African government, as well as international pressure, that they were going home.

'We are just glad that we are going home'
"We were told yesterday that we were going to be freed. We were told that Zuma and his government were involved in the negotiations for our release, and now today we are free men," said an emotional Du Toit, who added that the group, which were very close, had all become very religious since their imprisonment.

He said that while the group, who now had 24 hours to get out of Equatorial Guinea, knew that Zuma was involved in the negotiations for their presidential pardon, they did not know what the negotiations entailed.
Continues Below ↓





"We are in the dark about that. We do not know what went on behind the closed doors or for how long they have been negotiating.

"We are just glad that we are going home. This has been a dream of mine for years and I cannot wait to hold and see my family again.

"While we have been preparing ourselves for this, it is still hard to believe that we are actually coming home," he said, adding that they were all doing well, were in high spirits and enjoying being free.

Zuma flew to the oil-rich country
Zuma's spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, acknowledged that the president might have lobbied for their release.

"It is true that Zuma might have discussed the plight of the prisoners when he visited the country last year, before he became president. But I am not privy to that discussion, so I cannot confirm that. I can't rule out the possibility that they may have discussed it.

"Whether that translates into lobbying for their release, I can't say. But I am not ruling out that possibility.

"And we certainly do welcome the gesture shown by the Equatorial Guinea government. We understand that humanitarian grounds were a factor, especially in the case of Mann, because of his illness with cancer."

When it was put to him that it seemed too coincidental that the men were released on the day Zuma arrived in the country, he said: "It's possible that the government of Equatorial Guinea had believed it needed to release them on the eve of President Zuma's visit.

"But that was not a condition from our side, to say they must do that on the eve of the visit. We do believe it satisfies the legal provisions of Equatorial Guinea.

"We would not dictate to another sovereign country on how to apply its law. They tried and sentenced these men. But if they decide they want to release them, we have no problem with that."

Also freed were South Africans Sergio Cardoso, Jose Domingos and George Alerson.

Zuma flew to the oil-rich country yesterday on a scheduled one-day trade visit shortly after the release of the five men.

The five were among a group of 70 men who planned to overthrow Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema in the failed coup in 2004.

Sixty-two of the accused, including Mann, a former British SAS soldier - who, apart from cancer, is believed to be suffering from other serious illnesses - were arrested at Harare International Airport moments after landing there to buy weapons and equipment.

Du Toit, Cardoso, Domingos and Alerson were arrested on Equatorial Guinea's Bioko Island.

Du Toit, who admitted to his role in the coup, was sentenced to 34 years' imprisonment, while Cardoso, Domingos and Alerson were sentenced to 17 years' jail each.

Mann was extradited from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea shortly after his fellow plotters were freed from Chikurubi Prison in Zimbabwe, after serving only portions of their prison sentences.

South Africa's embassy in Malabo was last night working to repatriate the four South Africans, reports Sapa-AFP.

The four were released into the custody of the embassy yesterday, the Ministry of International Relations and Co-operation said.

"The embassy officials, working together with the families of the four, are in the process of facilitating their return to South Africa," the ministry said.

    • This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on November 04, 2009
Showing page 1 of 4 comment pages, 33 total comments
1 Day ago Simpiwe wrote :
Zuma should also release Shaik. Shaik is a freedom fighter and was instrumental in the fight against racist apparthied. Shaik should also get a goverment post. If racist whites can be released for crimes then shaik deserves to go free
2 Weeks ago Peter T wrote :
Yes will Jaco, afterall Shaik was just a fall-guy for a sin committed by many untouchable people. Tony Yengeni as well.
2 Weeks ago alex nyathi wrote :
JZ you are a great man, mfanakithi. Let us hear if other parties will complain about this initiative.
2 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
jzee!! you impress us over and over ! well done! you make us proud..
2 Weeks ago  wrote :
Well done JZeee! Sometimes in life we need people of your calibre.....you are pardoned, you also pardon others that's Godly! Amandla ViVa Msholozi!!!!
2 Weeks ago Kholo wrote :
@Jaco: I don't see a problem with that. There are a lot of apartheid killers who were pardoned and no one is making any noise about them. Grow up dude and stop your subliminally racist comments.
2 Weeks ago Dave in Didcot, UK wrote :
Whatever or whoever is behind the release of these men, let's just be grateful that common sense has finally prevailed and they are at last free. Praise be to freedom.....and all that goes with it.
2 Weeks ago The Disciple wrote :
Give praise where praise is due and discipline where discipline is due. The very fact that neither our government nor Mr.Zuma claim any credit for the release of these men is reason enough to cut the claptrap and accusations against a man who has, to date, performed to the best of his ability as president of our Nation. How about being grateful for and rather accentuating the positives, avoiding or eliminating the negatives and striving to not mess around in the in-between. If the time these men spent in prison led to their positive conversion and a personal relationship with the living God, then the whole experience was worth more than all the wealth and temporary comforts that this world has to offer. My hope is that they will all say "AMEN!!!" to this; not forgetting what God has done for them!!!
2 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
Give credit - Well done JZee
2 Weeks ago Nkhanedzeni wa Ha-Manenzhe wrote :
Well done Mr. President (Jacob Zuma). Vha a zwi funana vha Ha-Nyankwita hiii? Is not like you drag yourself to be so kind with the forgiving heart, kindness and very good sense of humour. You will always be praised no matter what. There will be those who will pretend as if they can’t see your good work but to me I say well-done and you have achieved a lot in a very short period of time since you stated leading the South Africans. I know that you don’t push yourself to forgive and love people but is within you. Wherever you are Mr. President you always deserve to stand tall but you are always down to earth. I wish everyone can see how good and committed you are. Though you do the best you can to please people but it will never be that easy to please everyone. To those of you coming back home Eguitorial Guine, I am saying to you, is always fortunate to have an understanding leader like our president, Keep sending the blessings to him so that even those who don’t understand him may start having paradigm shifts in their lives. Ndaa. Nkhanedzeni Manenzhe
HAVE YOUR SAY
Please enter your comment into the text box below.
Note: all comments are moderated (see our moderation policy) and may take some time to display, or may not appear at all.
If you would like to use an alias, please type it below. If you do not enter an alias you comment under a Anonymous byline.
Type your email address below - your comment will not be accepted without it. This is required as part of our moderation guidelines, but your address will not be published or distributed.
Lastly, to help fight spam, enter the letters in the image below as you see them.

Email StoryPrint Story
BOOKMARK THIS STORY
Social bookmarking allows users to save and categorise a personal collection of bookmarks and share them with others. This is different to using your own browser bookmarks which are available using the menus within your web browser.

Use the links below to share this article on the social bookmarking site of your choice.

Read more about social bookmarking at Wikipedia - Social Bookmarking

muti