Cape Town - Exactly a year ago, a Wilderness businessman set off for Equatorial Guinea to finalise a lucrative business deal, unaware he was walking into a nightmare that would see him held for a R1 million “ransom”, while spending his days in a hellish jail with hardened criminals.
Since September last year, 48-year-old business consultant Daniel Janse van Rensburg has been in and out of Black Beach – one of Africa’s most notorious prisons – where he has been locked up with murderers, contracted malaria multiple times and has had to endure a daily struggle for food and clean water.
This is despite diplomatic efforts by South Africa to secure his release.
He has also not been allowed to see his wife and two children, who have not only suffered a year of emotional trauma, but are also on the brink of financial ruin because of the ordeal.
In 2012, the South African, who had conducted previous business in Equatorial Guinea, including setting up a DStv office, was approached by influential businessman Gabriel Bela Angabi, who is also a politician and son-in-law of the country’s president, to help him set up an airline.
This week, Janse van Rensburg’s wife, Melanie, said there had been several issues with finalising the deal, including obtaining aviation licensing. Because of this, her husband had travelled to Malabo last September to ensure all the documentation was in place.
Soon after his arrival, however, he was arrested and he has been in and out of prison ever since.
“He has not been convicted of anything and we have been told he is in prison for ‘safekeeping’,” Melanie said.
She added Angabi would not allow her husband to finalise the airline deal and was claiming he owned him R1m.
“This is not true and we have all the documentation to back this up but we have been told that he will only be free to leave the country once this money is paid.
“Effectively, he is being held for ransom.”
She said they did not have the money to pay it.
“I’ve been trying to sell our house for some time now but with no success.”
There was, however, a flicker of hope about two months ago when she received a phone call from her husband informing her he would be allowed to return home if he signed an agreement.
“What it entailed was basically securing a buyer for our house and then paying the profit over to him (Angabi) once it sold.”
But Angabi changed his mind at the last minute, she said, and her husband was “thrown back in jail”.
“We are incredibly worried about him as the conditions in the prison are horrific.
“The last time we communicated he said every day was a battle for survival.”
Her husband not only had to sleep on the floor but was being kept with criminals, including a man who allegedly hacked his wife to death, cooked her and fed her to his family.
“He doesn’t get any food in prison unless we send money so that he can buy food and clean water from someone selling various items through a prison fence.
“The stench of blood and other bodily fluids is also apparently unbearable.”
Melanie said her husband had contracted malaria four times over the past year.
“Prisoners don’t get any medical treatment, so he was assisted by other prisoners. He also got typhoid and has lost 12kg already.”
Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Nelson Kgwete said the department and its mission in Equatorial Guinea had been engaged with this case for several months.
“Meetings have been held both in Pretoria and Malabo to facilitate an amicable resolution of the dispute between Janse van Rensburg and his business partner in Equatorial Guinea but these have not yielded positive results.
“The department continues to render consular assistance to him and his next of kin and is exploring further ways, through diplomatic channels, to find a solution,” he said.
Meanwhile, Janse van Rensburg’s family is suffering.
“Up until recently we had no income, so we don’t have any medical aid coverage or insurance anymore. I’ve had to find a job to keep food on the table and family members have been helping out a lot, especially keeping our son and daughter at university.”
Melanie said she was at breaking point and her daughter was suffering from depression because of the strain the situation had placed on them.
“We have always been very close, so I miss him terribly. The only thing that keeps me going is my faith in God.
“I struggle the most with the fact that he has now missed out on so many family celebrations and milestones.
“He wasn’t here when our daughter turned 21 and he was not with us for Christmas.”
Garden Route Media