Denard, Robert

▪ 1994

      "Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war." Shakespeare's line seemed particularly appropriate on April 5, 1993, as Bob Denard, one of the world's most notorious mercenary soldiers, walked free from a Paris courtroom. For the French soldier of fortune famed for his exploits in Africa throughout the 1960s and '70s, it was a vindication of his life's work. Some observers viewed the trial as confirmation of what many had already suspected—that Denard was something more than a freelance soldier for sale to the highest bidder. Rather, as evidenced by the testimony at trial and by Denard's own admission, many of his activities had been carried out with the tacit approval of the French government.

      Denard was born in France on Jan. 20, 1929. Following service with the French navy in Indochina, he joined (1952) the police force of what was then the French colony of Morocco. There Denard was convicted of taking part in an assassination attempt against French Prime Minister Pierre Mendès-France. After serving a 14-month jail term, Denard was acquitted of any wrongdoing and returned to France. In 1961, after answering a newspaper advertisement for "security men," he returned to Africa as a mercenary.

      Denard first fought for the government of Moise Tshombe, who was attempting to lead the secession of the mineral-rich Katanga (now Shaba) province from the rest of the former Belgian Congo (now Zaire). Then, following a brief period of service in Yemen, Denard returned (1965) to Africa. He served in Zaire, at one point leading a force of 1,100 mercenaries, known as les affreux ("the terrible ones"), until he was severely wounded in 1967. With a force of some 50 mercenaries, Denard invaded the Comoros in 1978 and arrested Pres. Ali Soilih (later shot and killed while "attempting to escape"). Denard installed Ahmed Abdallah as president of the Comoros and took control of the Presidential Guard. In 1989, however, following the assassination of Abdallah and faced with the possibility of unrest in the region, the French government sent a naval task force, complete with 3,000 troops, to remove Denard and his mercenaries from the Comoros. Rather than fight the French force, Denard went into exile in South Africa.

      He remained in South Africa until February 1993, when he voluntarily returned to France to face a five-year prison sentence for his 1977 role in a failed coup in Benin. Denard, arrested in Paris as he stepped off the plane, was held without bail. Within weeks of his arrest, however, both French government and military leaders spoke out on his behalf, acknowledging what Denard had maintained all along—that most of his actions had been undertaken with the knowledge and tacit approval of the government. The court overturned the original prison sentence and replaced it with a five-year suspended term. Although Denard still faced an investigation of his role in the Comoros, most observers felt that the aging mercenary would remain free.

      (JOHN H. MATHEWS)

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