Cape Town - A local NGO believes it can not only pinpoint where two South African hostages are being held in Yemen, but can also negotiate their safe release.
It has been more than three weeks since Pierre and Yolande Korkie were kidnapped by gunmen outside the Plaza Hotel in Taiz in Yemen.
There have been several rumours surrounding the couple’s whereabouts, with information placing the pair anywhere among mountain ranges and in secluded towns.
Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Clayson Monyela said that by Tuesday night there had been no official update on the ongoing search operations.
But Imtiaz Sooliman, founder of Gift of the Givers, believes the organisation has tracked down the Bloemfontein couple.
In an official statement released yesterday, he described how Anas al-Hamati, a project manager for the organisation's operations in the country, had been conducting his own investigation.
Sooliman said Al-Hamati had been granted full co-operation by the Yemeni president's office and foreign ministry.
But while it was believed that the couple were taken by al-Qaeda operatives, Sooliman said it appeared the kidnappers were “ordinary vandals” aware that one of the hostages was linked to a big business consortium.
“The information received points to the hostages being held in the Ibb province, in one of the villages there.”
The region is dotted with small towns and characterised by scattered mountain ranges. It is also home to a large tribal population, something Sooliman and Al-Hamati hoped to tap in to to help find the Korkies and negotiate their release.
Sooliman said that not only did Gift of the Givers, which has been conducting relief operations in the country, have a good relationship with the local population, but Al-Hamiti also belonged to a “very influential tribe”. The organisation had paid for tribal leader Sheik Hussain to accompany and assist Al-Hamiti in his search.
Sooliman said Hussain was previously responsible for negotiating the safe release of two Swiss hostages in February. The hostages had reportedly been held captive for over a year.
A friend of the Korkies, who did not want to be named, said while she was glad the search for the abducted couple was being taken seriously, she was wary of commenting on the Gift of the Givers’ newly acquired information.
“We will wait until it’s official… we’ve been advised to keep the (couple’s) media profile low. Anything we say or do could influence negotiations over their ransom… and whether they make it out, you know, harmed or not.”
The Korkies moved to Yemen four years ago to teach English. Pierre Korkie was a teacher at Grey College, and Yolande taught at Bloemfontein Primary School. Former Grey College headmaster Johan Volsteedt said the Korkies had been on their way back to South Africa to attend Pierre’s father’s funeral when they were abducted.
The couple have two children who are in South Africa.
Cape Argus