Thatcher dodges prison term

CAPE TOWN - The son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pleaded guilty last night to a role in a foiled coup in Equatorial Guinea under a plea bargain that spares him prison.

The Cape High Court agreed to a deal for Mark Thatcher to pay a fine of 3 million rand ($715,000) or face five years in jail in South Africa, in addition to a further 4-year prison sentence suspended for five years.

"There is no price too high for me to pay to be reunited with my family and I am sure all of you who are husbands and fathers would agree with that," Thatcher said on the steps of the court after the hearing.

He also agreed to assist South African authorities with their investigations into the plot against the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea.

A nervous-looking Thatcher repeatedly said "Yes, I do, Yes I do," when asked in court whether he agreed to the various terms of the deal, which allows him to leave South Africa to join his family in America for the first time in nearly five months.

Thatcher pleaded guilty to attempting to contravene section 2 of South Africa's anti-mercenary laws by agreeing to charter a helicopter, his lawyers said.

Thatcher, who has lived in South Africa for the past eight years, was arrested in Cape Town last August 25 on charges of bankrolling a foiled coup in the oil-rich West African nation.

Equatorial Guinea sentenced 11 foreigners in November to jail terms ranging from 14 to 34 years for their role in the coup plot, and two of its own citizens to 16 months.

Zimbabwe jailed British former special services officer Simon Mann to seven years in September, and jailed 65 other suspected mercenaries, all South African citizens, for 12 months on related charges.

South Africa, foremost in African Union efforts to end wars on the continent, has enacted strict anti-mercenary laws intended to crush an industry that has exported military professionals willing to sell their lethal expertise across Africa.

- REUTERS