2004 Equatorial Guinea coup d'état attempt assault rifles, 150 hand grenades, 10 rocket-propelled grenade launchers (and 100 RPG shells), and 75,000 rounds of ammunition. Mann said he wanted the rifles, mortars and ammunition to guard diamond mines in volatile parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was alleged that those arrested in Zimbabwe made a stopover in Harare city to buy weapons and expected to join a team in Equatorial Guinea to overthrow President Obiang. Nick du Toit, the leader of the group of arrested in Equatorial Guinea, said at his trial in Equatorial Guinea that he was recruited by Simon Mann and that he
History of Equatorial Guinea also included former members of the South African Army 32 Battalion. Financial backers included Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and possibly the British novelist Jeffrey Archer. Somewhere between $3 million and $20 million was expended on the failed coup, which is said to have had the tacit support of some Western governments and international corporations. In 2011 the government announced it was planning a new capital for the country, named Oyala. History of Equatorial Guinea The History of Equatorial Guinea is marked by centuries of colonial domination by the Portuguese, British and Spanish empires,