Nick du Toit

Nicolaas Servaas "Nick" du Toit is a former South African arms dealer, former mercenary and former army officer of 32 Battalion and the 5th Reconnaissance Commando. He was implicated in the plot to overthrow Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.

He went on trial in Malabo along with 18 other men accused of being the advance party for 70 other mercenaries. The prosecution asked for the death penalty but when all were found guilty, jail sentences were handed out with du Toit receiving 34 years (to be served in Malabo's notorious Black Beach prison).

His job in the coup d'état was reportedly to supply the mercenaries with arms including AK47s, RPGs, PK machine guns, and mortars, and to secure the control tower at the Malabo airport and change the frequency to establish communication with the incoming plane from Zimbabwe carrying more mercenaries. After his capture, he appeared on South African television announcing the failure of the coup and the names of co-conspirators. Du Toit's wife has claimed her husband was tortured, including electric shocks and beatings.

He was given a presidential pardon by Equatorial Guinea's ruler, President Obiang, on 3 November 2009, and was released, along with Sergio Fernando Patricio Cardoso, Jose Passocas Domingos and Georges Olympic Nunez Alerson. Simon Mann was also released and was back in England by 6 November 2009.