Sixty-six suspected mercenaries pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of breaching Zimbabwe’s security laws in connection with an alleged plot to topple the president of Equatorial Guinea.
A state prosecutor told the court at Harare’s top security prison that the men had ”unlawfully attempted to acquire weapons” from Zimbabwe’s state arms manufacturer in violation of the security laws.
In response, each of the 66 men pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The men were among 70 suspected mercenaries, all travelling on South African passports, who were arrested in March at Harare International airport when their Boeing 727 landed there to pick up weapons from the state arms manufacturer.
Zimbabwe authorities said they were on their way to Equatorial Guinea to overthrow longtime President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, but the men maintain they were headed to the Democratic Republic of Congo to guard a diamond mine.
The alleged ringleader, Briton Simon Mann, was not among the 66 who pleaded not guilty. He entered separate pleas during a court appearance on July 28.
The members of the three-man crew that flew the plane into Harare are facing only minor offences of breaching immigration and aviation laws.
According to documents produced in court on Wednesday, the men had tried to acquire weapons in Harare, including AK-47s, hand grenades, rocket launchers and mortars, in violation of Zimbabwe’s Public Order and Security Act, which prohibits the possession of dangerous weapons.
State witness Clemence Madzingo, who led a police search of the plane after it was impounded, told the court that a map of Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, had been found on board the plane.
A conviction on security charges could lead to a jail term of up to 10 years. — Sapa-AFP