Simon Mann, the former British soldier and mercenary known for leading a failed coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea in 2004, has died at the age of 72, according to UK media reports.
Mann, a former SAS officer, reportedly died earlier this week while working out at a gym, MailOnline reported on Friday. He served prison time in both Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea for his role in the botched operation, before eventually receiving a pardon and returning to Britain.
In 2004, Simon Mann, along with South Africans Nick du Toit, Sergio Cardoso, Jose Sundays, and George Alerson, tried to topple President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has ruled the oil-rich Central African nation since seizing power in a 1979 coup.
The plot centred on flying in a group of over 50 mercenaries—mainly former members of South Africa’s now-defunct 32 Battalion—aboard a plane carrying weapons. Their goal was to install exiled opposition figure Severo Moto as the new leader. However, the operation unravelled when their aircraft was intercepted by Zimbabwean authorities at Harare airport in March 2004.
During legal proceedings, Mann named Mark Thatcher—the son of former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher—as one of the financial backers of the coup. Thatcher later pleaded guilty in a South African court to inadvertently funding the plot and received a four-year suspended sentence.
Educated at Eton College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Simon Mann was considered the key strategist behind the attempted power grab. His actions drew international attention to Equatorial Guinea, a country that rose to prominence in the 1990s following the discovery of significant offshore oil reserves.
