'Hired guns' could face death

2004-03-10 12:39

Harare - Sixty-seven suspected mercenaries detained in Zimbabwe since a US-registered plane was impounded here at the weekend could face the death penalty, foreign minister Stan Mudenge said on Wednesday.

"They are going to face the severest punishment available in our statutes, including capital punishment," Mudenge told a gathering of diplomats in Harare.

Mudenge said the group - which included three crew members - were on a two-pronged mission to Equatorial Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

"Apparently this was not the one mission. After the diversion in Equatorial Guinea, they were going to the DRC," Mudenge said.

"We are going deliberately" about investigations.

"We are going to liaise with our friends in Equatorial Guinea and with our friends in South Africa," he said.

The group detained in Harare is made up mostly of South Africans, Namibians and Angolans, the Harare government said Tuesday.

"So far it would appear that Harare was not the final destination of the group," home affairs minister Kembo Mohadi said in a statement then, adding that destinations given by members of the group included the DRC and Burundi.

A company claiming it was operating the flight said that those aboard had been on their way to work at mines in the DRC.

The British company Logo Logistics sent a statement to Sapa in which it said: "They are contracted to provide a range of services to mining clients, including logistics, support services, asset and human security, and communications.

"We can make it clear that we have no current or intended business in Zimbabwe and certainly no illegal intentions against its government and people."

The South African media had earlier speculated it was ferrying mercenaries to Equatorial Guinea, or to Ivory Coast, in west Africa, or to Burundi - all volatile nations.

The equipment on the plane, shown on Zimbabwe state television, included satellite telephones, compasses, radios, military-style knives and boots, bolt-cutters and sleeping bags. -AFP

- AFP