Alleged ultimatum for release of South Africans detained in Equatorial Guinea

Frik Potgieter from George and Peter Huxham from Hermanus, the two oil engineers who have been imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea for 17 months, allegedly won’t be released until South Africa returns the two Cape Town houses that were seized from Equatorial Guinea’s vice-president, Teodoro (Teddy) Obiang Nguema Mangue, last year.

This, according to an article in Daily Maverick, was the message that Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the vice-president’s father, delivered to the then international relations and co-operation minister, Naledi Pandor, during her visit in May.

George Herald has reached out to the families’ spokesperson to confirm this, but it seems they did not have any knowledge of the latest alleged developments – despite sending requests to Pandor, the new minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola, and president Cyril Ramaphosa.

Feedback from the families is expected as soon as they can confirm anything.

On July 1, the United Nations issued a formal opinion confirming that the men are being unlawfully detained and must be released immediately.

The houses in Upper Constantia (Bishopscourt) and Clifton that were owned by Obiang, are worth tens of millions of rands though they are steadily falling apart.

According to a neighbour who spoke to George Herald, the house in Upper Constantia, with its bulletproof glass fencing around the tennis court, was once worth about R50m, but it has been completely looted and what is left might as well be demolished.

“For the past four years the property has been allowed to fall into disrepair,” the neighbour said. Vice-president Obiang also allegedly owes the City of Cape Town well over a million rand in rates, taxes, and water and electricity bills that are in arrears.

Obiang has allegedly never slept there once and the mansion was left in the hands of a caretaker, who also left due to non-payment.

The situation has however recently escalated into a potentially dangerous one for neighbours with vagrants and gangs invading the property and looting all the valuables including curtains, paintings, cables, copper pipes and whatever else they could get their hands on.

“The police, assisted by the Constantia Watch, arrested 16 transgressors in February. All were profiled and released as there is no property owner to formally open a case,” said the neighbour.

It is alleged that two of the suspects were gang member soldiers following the orders of a gang general in Wynberg to collect valuable items to pay for drugs.

In addition to these luxury properties, Obiang allegedly owns more properties in the richest parts of the world, such as Paris in France.

Background to the story

Potgieter and Huxham were working in Equatorial Guinea when they were arrested on February 9, 2023, on alleged trumped-up charges of drug trafficking.

In June 2023 they were convicted and each sentenced to 12 years in prison. They also received large fines.

Their families are convinced that the real reason for the country’s action against them was that days before their arrest, a South African court had ordered the seizure of one of Obiang’s luxury superyachts and the two luxury Cape Town villas.

The yacht was later released, but the two houses remain attached.

The seizure was ordered to be liquidated to pay damages to Hoekwil local Daniel van Rensburg, who was imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea in 2011 after a joint airline venture with a member of the Obiang family went sour.

Both properties in Cape Town are still attached by the sheriff. Obiang appealed against the Western Cape High Court’s judgment last year and the matter is now being transferred to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

It is believed that at this stage only the furniture of the two properties was sold. Van Rensburg has yet to be paid despite winning his case in June 2021 and the appeal in October 2023.

If Obiang loses in Bloemfontein, the properties could go on auction. Van Rensburg spent almost 500 days in the notoriously harsh Black Beach Prison. He claimed and won almost R40m in damages from Obiang.

Click here to sign the petition to demand the men’s urgent release.