Durban - Still haunted by the horrors he experienced in the notorious Black Beach prison in Equatorial Guinea – where he had been held illegally for the past two years after a business deal went sour – Garden Route resident Daniel Janse van Rensburg says he’d come to realise the “road to healing” was going to be a difficult one.
The 49-year-old Wilderness businessman was reunited with his family a week ago after spending two years in and out of prison amid claims by Equatorial Guinea businessman and politician Gabriel Bela Angabi that he owed him R1-million after Janse van Rensburg helped him establish an airline in that country.
This was the fifth business deal he had concluded with Angabi since 2001, and he worked on establishing the airline over a two-year period.
In spite of being cleared by a court there of any wrongdoing, Janse van Rensburg was still detained – and he blames Angabi’s influence.
However, adjusting to life at home has been difficult so far, partly owing to the stark contrast between his experiences in prison and his peaceful life on the Garden Route.
Although he did not want to discuss in detail what had happened to him behind bars, he said it included living like “an animal in a cage”, being fed food not fit for human consumption, intimidation by other inmates, disease and isolation.
“Since his return, Danie hasn’t been sleeping much, as what he experienced there still plagues him,” his wife, Melanie, said.
Janse van Rensburg also said he knew the road to recovery – not only for him, but also for his family – was going to be a long one.
“I’m still overwhelmed by everything and am receiving counselling.”
While his wife is grateful to have her husband back, the ordeal has taken its toll on her.
“I’m not sleeping either. For most of his time away, I slept on the couch, as I couldn’t bear sleeping in our bed knowing that he was suffering.”
While conditions in prison were horrific and he often feared for his life, he said the biggest challenge was not having contact with his family.
“Over the two years, we were able to speak twice. Other than that, we had to smuggle letters in and out of prison.”
He said what devastated him most was telling his wife he was not coming home after a glimmer of hope regarding his release had presented itself.
He had all the documentation showing that he was free to leave the country right from the start and, with the help of the South African embassy there, was on the brink of coming home three times. But every time, he said, Angabi and his “men” stopped him.
But, thanks to the embassy staff, his lawyer and various other government departments, he was finally able to leave the county and boarded a flight home last Saturday, arriving in George the following day.
Independent on Saturday