The Dangerous Mercenary : Mike Hoare

On 25 November 1981, armed mercenaries entered the Eastern African country of the Seychelles disguised as a beer-drinking tourist party by the name “The Ancient Order of Froth-Blowers.“ Their objective was to return to power the ex-President of the country who had been deposed in a coup in 1977. This group was led by a man by the name Mike Hoare, who was a soldier of fortune , that is a mercenary. Hoare was once a mainstay of news headlines around the world and he rose to prominence as a highly sought after gun for hire in Africa. This was in the era of newly independent Africa, during which mercenaries of different nationalities were recruited by those with interests in the region particularly in the Congo. Hoare’s career as a mercenary, came to an embarrassing end in the failed coup d’état in the Seychelles and subsequent plane hijacking in 1981, during which he was captured and sentenced to 10 years in jail, serving just over three. In this episode of African Biogr