CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP):
SOUTH AFRICA is considering a request by Equatorial Guinea to question Mark Thatcher about his alleged involvement in a foiled coup plot in the oil-rich west African nation, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry said yesterday.
Thatcher, the 51-year-old son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, is under house arrest at his luxury Cape Town home on charges that he helped fund the purchase of a helicopter to be used in the alleged coup. He denies any involvement and has until Sept. 8 to post 2 million rand (US$300,000, euro249,000) bail.
South Africa's Department of Foreign Affairs received Equatorial Guinea's request to question Thatcher on Friday and conveyed it to the Justice Ministry on Monday, ministry spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said.
"We are still looking at intergovernmental relations between our two countries to see if the request complies," Kganyago said. "We can't say how long this will take."
Equatorial Guinea says it has already requested an international arrest warrant for Thatcher and other Britons accused of contracting with a Spanish-based opposition leader and international mercenaries to finance a plot to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, whose nation of 500,000 has become Africa's No. 3 oil producer.
