South Africa’s national broadcaster on Friday asked permission to broadcast a legal challenge by Mark Thatcher against a subpoena forcing him to answer questions on his alleged role in a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea.
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) submitted an application before the Cape High Court to air court proceedings on Tuesday, when Thatcher’s lawyers will argue that the subpoena violates their client’s right to remain silent.
State advocate Michael Donen and Thatcher’s lawyer Alan Bruce-Brand know about the application by the SABC television network for a live broadcast, legal sources said, adding that the Cape High Court was due to hear the application on Monday.
Thatcher, the son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested on August 25 in Cape Town and charged with involvement in a plot to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled Equatorial Guinea for 25 years.
He is due to appear in court on November 25 to answer charges of violating South Africa’s anti-mercenary law.
The South African justice minister has agreed to a request from Malabo prosecutors to put questions to Thatcher.
If convicted, Thatcher could face a fine or a jail sentence, or both.
Thatcher is accused of contributing $275 000 (230 000 euros) towards the plot.
His lawyers deny the charge and maintain that the funds were an investment in an air ambulance venture for west Africa.
Thatcher’s friend and neighbour in the Cape Town suburb of Constantia, Briton Simon Mann, was sentenced to seven years in jail in Zimbabwe on September 10 for attempting to buy weapons that Harare alleges were to be used in the coup.
Sixty-seven other suspected mercenaries were sentenced to 12 and 16 months in jail for violating immigration laws when their plane stopped over in Harare on March 7 to pick up the consignment of weapons. ‒ Sapa-AFP