'Mercenary' too ill to travel
2005-05-15 16:14
Johannesburg - Only 61 of the 62 alleged SA mercenaries released from prison in Zimbabwe are back in South Africa, AFP reports.
The men arrived back in the country on Sunday.
The agency said one man, Malani Moyo, was kept behind in Zimbabwe "for unknown reasons".
South Africa's ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jerry Ndou, told Sapa that Moyo may have been left behind due to ill health.
"All the men who finished their one-year sentence were released. The one left behind may be the one who was just too sick to travel.
"He couldn't even sit. It might be that they are looking at alternative ways of transporting him back home," said Ndou.
The men arrived at the Beit Bridge Border post on Sunday morning by truck after travelling from Harare for about nine hours.
They were released from the Chikurubi maximum security prison on Saturday night, where they spent a year after being convicted of plotting to unseat the government of the oil-rich Equatorial Guinea in March last year.
They were kept at Chikurubi for a few more days after their sentences expired on Tuesday.
Ken Pain's wife, Marge, said she never thought there would be an end to the ordeal.
"The family is obviously very happy to have him back. My husband is very tired right now and so am I.
He has been travelling for nine hours and I have had to wait here since last night," said Pain.
She said there would be no welcome home party for the man just yet.
"He needs to rest, so I think we will leave this for a couple of days and maybe do it a bit later," she said.
Pain was among a large group of family members who had been waiting at the border post since on Saturday night.
The men, who were travelling under "heavy police escort" only reached the border shortly after 10:00 on Sunday.
One of the men was taken to a nearby clinic upon his arrival, and SABC radio news reported that a second man was also taken to hospital.
Attempts on Sunday afternoon to contact a department of home affairs representative were unsuccessful.
- SAPA