South Africans stuck abroad: It has been a full two years

GEORGE NEWS - Two years and four days - 734 days. That's how long Frik Potgieter from George and Peter Huxham from Langebaan have been incarcerated illegally in a prison in Equatorial Guinea.

As the grim second anniversary of their detention arrived on Sunday 9 February, their families have issued an urgent plea to the governments of South Africa and the UK to intensify efforts to secure their release, and appealed to the president of Equatorial Guinea to grant them clemency.

"The 9th of February 2025 marks a heartbreaking milestone: two years of wrongful imprisonment for Frik and Peter - two innocent men caught in a diplomatic impasse between South Africa and Equatorial Guinea," said Shaun Murphy and Francois Nigrini, spokespersons for the families.

"Two years of suffering, fear, and uncertainty. Two years of unanswered pleas, despite clear international and parliamentary demands for their release. For their families, each passing day without them is an unbearable injustice."

The men were arrested in Equatorial Guinea in 2023. On 1 July 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a formal opinion deeming their arrests and detention unlawful and arbitrary and called for their immediate release.

In October, the South African Parliament passed a unanimous motion demanding urgent action to bring them home.

Both men are highly respected professionals who have worked in Equatorial Guinea's oil and gas sector for many years. They have mentored and trained young Equatorial Guineans, equipping them with the skills to advance in their careers.

"In the extremely limited calls we have had with them (four with Frik and six with Peter), it is evident that their physical and mental health is deteriorating, and their hope is fading."

The families are calling for four urgent actions: continued SA diplomatic engagement, UK intervention as Peter is a dual UK-South African citizen, accountability from Parliament and clemency from the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, a devout Catholic and a father, who has the power to show compassion and end this suffering.

"These past two years have robbed our families of precious time - time we can never get back. But we will not stop fighting for Frik and Peter. This must end now," said the spokespersons.

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