Simon Mann, an Eton and Sandhurst-educated ex-SAS officer, who led a botched coup involving Margaret Thatcher’s son to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea, has died aged 72.
Mann led a group of 70 fellow mercenaries who were arrested in Zimbabwe in 2004 for attempting to topple Equatorial Guinea’s despotic president, Teodoro Obiang.
Mann and his friend Mark Thatcher admitted involvement in the attempted plot, which became known as the “wonga coup”. When the plot was revealed, Obiang threatened to eat Mann’s testicles and drag his naked body through the streets.
After all, absolutely every penny of that oil and gas money goes to Obiang and family, none at all to the people. Yes, yes, obviously, white boys and evil colonialism and all that but it still wouldn’t have been worse.
Tut, tut Tim. Next thing you’ll be pointing out that places like Sudan say, were better off under white (shudder!!) rule.
Nominally, at least, Sudan used to be under joint Anglo Egyptian rule.
Say this for Mann, he lived the novels : it is all Dogs of War and Heart of Darkness.
I particularly liked the fact that he was recalled to colours for Gulf War 1 which sounds Hannayesque.
Well yeah Otto.
Though I’d always thought that this meant the Gyppo taxpayers paid most of the costs while the Brits ran the place. But if you can shoot me down in flames, please do so.
Sudan was one of those places that was a model of efficiency in the way it was run. Once order was restored after the Mahdists defeat, it was controlled by a small cadre of British and Egyptian officials. The troops used there were Egyptians under British command.
True to say though, that it cost very little to run because there was sod all there. 🙂
He wasn’t recalled, Otto, he volunteered.
BB, all of the African continent, north and south of the Sahara, was demonstrably better when Whitey ran it. Some Whiteys were better than others: the Brits were the best and Belgium by far the worst, but even with them, look what happened to the Congo the moment they left. The place is completely fucked with no hope of improvement because it’s a tribal kleptocracy hiding behind a socialist mask, as is most of the rest of the place.
If Whitey was still running the place and the locals were adopting the best of Whitey culture and abandoning their tribal shackles it’d be going great guns by now. Ian Smith RIP.
@Norman
Curiously enough that was exactly the opinion of a black woman from Malawi I one met. And I suspect it’s one widely shared in black Africa.
Interested
Yeah but they didn’t have to take him on
🙂