Mali hostage video: SA cautious

Stephen Malcolm McGowan, of South Africa, and Johan Gustafsson, of Sweden, ask for help from their governments. Neither hostage showed any obvious signs of ill health.

Stephen Malcolm McGowan, of South Africa, and Johan Gustafsson, of Sweden, ask for help from their governments. Neither hostage showed any obvious signs of ill health.

Published Jun 23, 2015

Share

Durban - The Department of International Relations and Co-operation said the government would not comment on a hostage situation.

Spokesman Clayson Monyela was responding after a video released on YouTube this week showed South African Stephen Malcolm McGowan and Swede Johan Gustafsson - kidnapped by al-Qaeda militants from a restaurant in Timbuktu, Mali, more than three years ago - asking their governments for help.

“As soon as the government gets involved the ransom demands made by the kidnappers go up. Most times these amounts are so high that the family can’t afford to pay,” Monyela said.

He said the department was aware of the development and they would only come to the forefront once negotiations had been finalised.

In the video the bearded men show no obvious signs of ill health.

They take turns to speak to the camera, each asking their government to step in to help free them.

 

The men were taken at gunpoint in November 2011, weeks before secular and Islamist rebels took over Mali’s north.

A German man with them was shot dead in the capture, while a Dutch hostage was discovered by chance and freed during a raid by French commandos in April this year.

The nearly 19-minute video - titled “A trip to interview two prisoners” - could not be independently verified by Reuters, although it bore the stamp of al-Andalus, which claims to be the media arm of al-Qaeda in north Africa (Aqim).

It was posted on YouTube and on a Mauritanian website called Sahara Medias, which has a history of releasing statements by Islamist groups.

The opening sequence shows a group of armed men in the desert and is narrated by a masked man speaking fluent English.

The film then cuts to a forest scene where the two hostages, dressed in robes, are led beneath a tree and interviewed as their captors look on.

The men, who were filmed in 2012 and 2013 but are not known to have appeared in video footage since, are informed by their masked interviewer that negotiations for their release are under way but have not yet succeeded.

A clip from the video, a little more than a minute long, shows a masked man dressed in army fatigues addressing McGowan, 39, and Gustafsson.

He tells them, under the shade of a few trees, that they had “unfortunately not heard anything” from the Swedish or South African governments

He mentions that the French and Malian secret services were working to secure their freedom and that he hoped that would be successful.

McGowan, dressed in clean clothes and sporting a long beard, thanked the government in the video.

“Thanks for all you’ve done so far. I will continue to ask for help and hope you will assist in my release.”

Gustafsson also extended his thanks to the Swedish government for the support they had offered his family.

“They have been doing what they can.”

The video features sound effects and super-imposed images, suggesting the kidnappers may be aping the sophisticated production techniques used by Islamic State.

The date of the video was not clear, though the video could be dated from McGowan’s mother’s birthday and his wedding anniversary, which he acknowledges in his message.

The location of the video is not given, described only by the narrator as “new territory under the control of mujahedeen”. McGowan hints they are being held in Mali.

On a Facebook page set up for McGowan called “Pray for Stephen”, well-wishers posted prayers for his safe return.

McGowan’s father, Malcolm, said the video was “heartbreaking”.

“We never lose hope. He will be home one day… He is our son and we love him dearly.”

 

As hopeful as the family was, he said there was not much they could do. “Nothing has come from our efforts… government needs to do something,”

It was not only his family that was hoping for his safe return. Shelley Seiler of the Rosebank Union Church where McGowan was a member said: “All of us are concerned about their well-being.”

She said that it had brought the congregation together as they helped the family cope with the trauma.

Daily News

Related Topics: