The leader of a group of mercenaries allegedly behind the plot to overthrow Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila has been arrested in Cape Town. South Africa.
Captain Paul Ramoloko, spokesman of the Hawks elite crime-fighting unit confirmed the arrest and said the unnamed suspect would be transferred to Pretoria where the other suspects are being detained.
The Pretoria Magistrate’s court on Thursday formally charged 19 DRC rebels with plotting to stage a coup in their home country.
South African State prosecutor Shaun Abrahams informed the court that the rebels ''intended to unseat President Kabila unconstitutionally”.
The 19 men were arrested by a crack South African Police counter terrorism unit in the Limpopo province on Tuesday.
The charges relate to transgressing the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act 15 of 1998.
They were remanded in police custody and ordered to return to court on 14 February.
Apart from one US citizen who has been identified as James Kazongo, the rebels are all DRC citizens. It is unclear how they entered South Africa.
Pana 11/02/2013