Zim mercenary returns to SA trial

For the first time in just over a year, Simon Witherspoon – one of the men who recently returned from prison in Zimbabwe – joined his co-accused in the dock at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday charged with the murder of a suspected saddle thief.

The trial of Witherspoon, businessmen Grant McIntyre, Owen Nelson and EnviroWatch security guards Dennis Msawenkosi Mchunu and Welcome Hlela will resume next February. Another accused, guard Zwelakhe Maga Dladla, has died. (The Witness, South Africa)

Witherspoon could yet be prosecuted under the Foreign Military Assistance Act in relation to last year’s failed coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.