Zim: SA man dies of meningitis
2004-10-06 10:54
Johannesburg - One of the South Africans in Zimbabwe accused of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea has died, the foreign affairs department confirmed on Wednesday.
The man died in a Zimbabwean hospital on Tuesday, of suspected meningitis, said departmental spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
The man had been moved from prison to the hospital eight days before, but the department was only informed of his illness once he had died, Mamoepa said.
Briton Simon Mann, the alleged coup plot mastermind was sentenced to seven years in jail by a Zimbabwe court on weapons charges.
A group of 65 other suspected mercenaries were sentenced to 12 months in jail while the two men who flew a plane to Harare in March to pick up weapons, allegedly bound for Malabo, were given 16-month jail sentences for violating immigration laws.
- SAPA