The former national director of public prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, might be called to testify in the court case of eight men charged with contravening sections of the Regulation of Military Assistance Act relating to an alleged attempted coup in the Equatorial Guinea.
State advocate Torie Pretorius told the Pretoria Regional Court on Tuesday that he might call Ngcuka, but did not expand on the reasons why he would call him.
However, several state witnesses have in the past weeks testified that they had been under the impression that Ngcuka and the South African government knew and approved the planned coup.
On Tuesday state witness Harry Carlse said he was assured by Simon Mann — alleged mastermind of the coup — on several occasions that the government knew about the coup.
”Nick du Toit told me on one occasion that Bulelani Ngcuka confirmed the legality of this operation to him,” Carlse told the court.
He said this assurance was again given to him and Simon Witherspoon, one of the accused, at a meeting shortly before the coup.
Witherspoon and the seven others — Raymond Stanley Archer, Victor Dracula, Louis du Preez, Errol Harris, Mazanga Kashama, Neves Tomas Matias and Hendrik Jacobus Hamman — have pleaded not guilty to a charge of contravening the Act.
‘They are not telling the truth’
Meanwhile, a former accused in the Equatorial Guinea coup trial, now a state witness, allegedly threatened other accused with rape in prison if they did not testify for the state, the court heard on Tuesday.
Maitre Ruakuluka, also known as Celeste, was charged with contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act. He turned state witness earlier this month. Charges against him were then dropped and he was called to testify against his former co-accused on Tuesday.
Ruakuluka told the court that Matias told him when he was recruited that they had a ”mission to do”, which was to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea.
He said that they did training with wooden guns looking like AK47’s in the week before they left for Equatorial Guinea.
In cross-examination, however, defence advocate Margie Victor said Ruakuluka’s testimony about Matias was false. She said Ruakuluka was trying to frighten Matias into turning state witness.
”You said they were all [the accused] going to jail and that accused six was going to be your wife in jail?” Victor asked after several fierce exchanges between her and Ruakuluka.
”Because the problem is they are not telling the truth,” the answer came.
”So you were threatening to rape him in jail were you not,” she pushed.
”No, I was not meaning it like that, he was going to bring me food, do my washing and look after me in jail,” he said.
The defence team earlier in February laid a charge of intimidation against Ruakuluka when he apparently threatened and attacked Matias.
Ruakuluka admitted to the court that he had ”a problem” with Matias, saying it was because he had dragged him into the coup plot.
Later on Tuesday, Carlse said that despite earlier pleading guilty he still felt he had done nothing wrong.
Carlse, who was to be the ground commander of the alleged mercenaries in Equatorial Guinea, was fined R75 000 and given a suspended sentence in 2004 after admitting his guilt in a plea bargain.
The accused were amongst a group arrested in March 2004 on arrival at Harare International Airport to refuel and pick up military equipment while allegedly en route to stage the coup in Equatorial Guinea. Carlse, who was already in Zimbabwe, was also at the airport and was also arrested.
He said on Tuesday that most of the men had been informed that they were on their way to guard a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They were only to be informed of the coup when the aircraft took off from Harare.
”It was the cover story and the cover story gets told to the masses till it’s absolutely necessary to inform them otherwise.”
As far as he knew, only two of the men on trial had known of the plot — Louis du Preez and Simon Witherspoon — Carlse testified.
He had recruited them days before the attempted coup, assuring them it was legal because the South African National Intelligence Agency, President Thabo Mbeki’s office and the then-director of public prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, all knew and approved of the plot.
Carlse himself believed the government had given the operation its approval.
He had had no choice but to plead guilty, even though he believed everything was legal, he said in response to questions by Alwyn Griebenow, the lawyer representing Du Preez and Witherspoon.
”When we came out of the prison in Zimbabwe we did not have the finances to fight the state or make a big hoo-ha about it …,” he said.
The case continues on Wednesday. — Sapa