The critical gaze of the international community is as much on South Africa as it is on Equatorial Guinea as the trial of 18 men charged with plotting a coup against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema plays out in Malabo.
Nguema has profusely thanked the South African authorities for helping to thwart the alleged putsch bid and apprehend the men: eight South Africans, six Armenians and four Equatorial-Guineans.
And, at Nguema’s request, South African officials have been advising Malabo officials on how to conduct a fair and transparent trial. Any legal travesty in the oil-rich African state will reflect badly on South Africa as it does on the man who came to power in 1979 by killing his uncle.
A string of broken promises by Nguema and his officials has made this increasingly likely.
Nevertheless, the South African authorities have put a brave face on things. “The South African observer team is of the view that there have been strenuous attempts by the Equatorial-Guinean authorities to ensure a transparent and fair trial,” said Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
Mamoepa was speaking after the prosecution completed its case against the South Africans in the dock and turned on the 10 others.
Under renewed pressure from South Africa, the authorities in Malabo appeared to change course in midstream.
They indicated late on Wednesday — once the South Africans had finished their evidence — that they might reconsider their decision to bar South African journalists from entering the country to attend the trial. This followed another approach by the South African team in Malabo led by Mokgethi Monaisa, South Africa’s ambassador to neighbouring Cameroon.
“The promise was made by the Equatorial Guinea authorities that they would allow South African journalists in to cover the trial,” said presidential spokesperson Bheki Khumalo. “We are surprised that did not happen. We have taken up the matter with our people in Malabo.”
Barring reporters was a clear breach of the personal promise given to President Thabo Mbeki by Nguema when he visited Pretoria last month. Nguema said proceedings would be fair, free, transparent and quick. He admitted that Equatorial Guinea did not have the capacity to conduct such a trial and asked South Africa for help.
South African officials made two visits to Malabo to advise on conditions necessary for a fair trial.
“These included access to lawyers for the accused and allowing South African journalists to cover proceedings,” said a senior official, who tried in vain to remind the Equatorial Guinea embassy of this last week.
The Equatorial Guinea embassy was demanding that the Department of Foreign Affairs vouch for each of the three South African journalists seeking visas. “We told them that in a free society this was not possible. We could confirm that the applicants are bona fide journalists, but we could not vouch for what they wrote. Neither would the journalists have wanted us to do this for them.”
The three reporters, including myself, were told by the Equatorial Guinea embassy last Friday that they would not be given visas.
Throughout the process, ambassador Bibang Tuan Antonio Nchuchuma refused to accept calls. His officials said he does not speak English. The embassy’s councillor, Nguema Ela Pedro Buna, also refused to speak to the reporters.
On Monday I asked a South Afri- can official who had made several approaches to the embassy on our behalf if they had gone as far as they could. “Much further,” she replied.
The trial started on Monday with the eight South African accused having had less than an hour with their lawyer.
Monaisa was in court but the rest of the South African observer team was still stuck in neighbouring Gabon. The flight from Johannesburg to Libreville had been delayed by 19 hours. They had missed the connection to Malabo and the next scheduled flight was on Wednesday. The team eventually boarded an “island hopper” light aircraft and arrived at last on Tuesday.
Proceedings started with a shock announcement from the prosecution that they would be seeking the death penalty for Nick du Toit, the alleged leader of the plotters. Nguema had said in an interview with the Paris-based Jeune Afrique Intelligence that the death penalty would not apply in this case because the accused were charged with conspiracy to a crime and not its commission.
Sentences of between 26 and 86 years were demanded for the other accused, who include former local economic planning minister Antonio Javier Nguema Nchama.
Accused number 19 German Eugen Nershz did not make it to the dock. He died in detention, 11 days after being nabbed in Malabo. Equatorial-Guinean authorities said the cause of death was malaria, which three more accused have contracted.
Amnesty International said Nershz died “apparently as a result of torture”.
Du Toit reportedly admitted limited involvement in a coup plan. He said he was to be paid $1-million by Simon Mann, one of the 70 men on trial in Harare for the same coup plot.
The former 32 Battalion operative said all his co-accused were innocent. They were working for his fishing and air cargo business in Malabo. According to South African officials, Du Toit denied recruiting any mercenaries.
He was recalled to the stand on Wednesday to testify about his relationship with Mark Thatcher, son of former British premier Margaret Thatcher, who had been arrested in Cape Town earlier that day in connection with the coup plot.
Du Toit said Mann had arranged a meeting with Thatcher last year, but this had not been in connection with any coup plot. He said the meeting was about involvement in a mining operation in Sudan.
Mamoepa has indicated South Africa may intervene if Du Toit is given the death penalty.
State of siege