Equatorial Guinea, 2004 — dissident coup conspiracy
Event Summary
This entry is coded 7 March 2004, corresponding to the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt, widely known as the Wonga Coup, against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. A group of mercenaries organized by mainly British financiers and led by former Special Air Service officer Simon Mann planned to overthrow Obiang and install the exiled opposition politician Severo Moto, prosecutors alleging that Moto was to be made president in return for preferential oil rights in the oil-rich state. On 7 March 2004 Zimbabwean police impounded a Boeing 727 at Harare airport that had flown in from South Africa carrying dozens of former soldiers, most of them ex-members of South Africa's disbanded 32 Battalion, who were waiting to load weapons; Mann and colleagues were arrested near the runway.
Around the same time a second group led by Nick du Toit was arrested inside Equatorial Guinea. The plot drew international attention when Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was later convicted in South Africa of helping finance it. Mann was sentenced to 34 years and later pardoned.
The 7 March 2004 coding matches the Harare arrests exactly.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
41103072004
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Obiang's forces and Zimbabwe foiled the plot; Obiang remained in power.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
CSP
Wikipedia
New York Times
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →