Two South African engineers jailed in Equatorial Guinea freed and back on SA soil
After more than two years behind bars in Equatorial Guinea, Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham have been released and are back in South Africa.
The two engineers, who were detained on 9 February 2023, were given a presidential pardon by the president of Equatorial Guinea.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola was at Lanseria Airport, Gauteng on Saturday night to welcome the two men home.
'We are overwhelmed with relief and joy. The last two years and four months have been unimaginably painful for both of our families. Today, we are finally able to say: Frik and Peter are safely back home,' said the families of the men in a statement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
an hour ago
- News24
Appeal dismissed: Road-raging traffic cop's 10-year sentence for attempted murder upheld
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg upheld traffic officer Nhlanhla Tshabalala's 10-year sentence for attempted murder. Tshabalala participated in a road rage incident where shots fired from his vehicle injured two people following a brief roadside altercation. Judge Pieter Bezuidenhout applied the doctrine of common purpose, ruling Tshabalala was equally liable even if his brother fired the shots. The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg has dismissed the appeal of Nhlanhla Hendry Tshabalala, a traffic officer convicted of three counts of attempted murder. The ruling handed down on Friday upheld both the conviction and the 10-year imprisonment sentence imposed by the Newcastle Regional Court. The case stems from an incident where Hercules Bonginkosi Zondi, a Ms Myeni, and Dumisani Buthelezi encountered Tshabalala's stationary vehicle on a public road. After a brief verbal exchange, the complainants continued their journey, but Tshabalala's vehicle pursued them. Court records show he pulled alongside their car, at which point shots were fired from his vehicle, striking and injuring both Zondi and Buthelezi. Judge Pieter Bezuidenhout rejected Tshabalala's argument that the shots were fired solely by his brother, Bongani, who was a passenger in the vehicle. 'The evidence clearly demonstrates that the appellant actively participated in the commission of the offence,' stated Bezuidenhout. 'By slowing down his vehicle and positioning it parallel to the complainants' car at the precise moment the shots were fired, he created the perfect opportunity for this attack to occur.' The judgment applied the doctrine of common purpose: Even if we accept that it was indeed the appellant's brother who physically fired the shots, the law is clear on this matter. When individuals act with a shared purpose to commit a crime, each becomes liable for the actions of the others. The court found three key factors undermining Tshabalala's defence: he failed to report the incident despite being a traffic officer; his version of events lacked credibility compared to the State's witnesses; and his claim that the complainants fired first was unsupported by evidence. 'The appellant's failure to report this serious incident, despite his position as a traffic officer, speaks volumes about his consciousness of guilt,' Bezuidenhout noted. In confirming the 10-year sentence, the court considered Tshabalala's status as a first-time offender with family responsibilities but determined the offence warranted the substantial term. 'Those entrusted with ensuring safety on our roads must be held to the highest standards,' Bezuidenhout stated. READ | Outstanding reports delay sentencing of pensioner convicted of road rage killing 'This court cannot overlook the irony and gravity of a traffic officer sworn to protect citizens on our roadways participating in what amounts to a dangerous and potentially deadly act of road rage.' He concluded: 'The sentence of 10 years' imprisonment appropriately reflects the severity of the offence and sends a necessary message regarding the consequences of such reckless disregard for human life.'
News24
3 hours ago
- News24
Person of interest: Apartheid assassin Eugene de Kock to testify at Cradock Four inquest
During a case management meeting for the Cradock Four inquest in May, several interested parties allegedly told the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) that they considered apartheid assassin Eugene de Kock to be a person of interest. Claims were made that De Kock assisted by providing advice to disguise the murder weapon used in the Cradock Four murders and that he allegedly said the 1989 Motherwell bombing was, in part, to terminate people who could shed light on the murders. This information is contained in an affidavit by De Kock's attorney, filed in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria as part of his litigation against police to secure legal funding as he is due to testify at the Cradock Four inquest. In May, the court ordered that the police fund his legal representation for the inquest, after they had dismissed his request twice. The inquest will investigate who should be held responsible for the deaths of anti-apartheid activists Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkonto and Sicelo Mhlauli, who were abducted and murdered by security police in June 1985 in the Eastern Cape. According to the confirmatory affidavit, De Kock's attorney said the case management meeting in which parties said they considered De Kock to be an 'implied person' was held on 7 May. 'Specific reference was made that after the murders of the Cradock Four, Col de Kock assisted by providing advice to disguise a murder weapon and that further reference was made to the Motherwell bombing, in that Col de Kock declared that part of the reason of the Motherwell bombing was to terminate persons that could shed light on the Cradock Four murders,' the affidavit reads. The Motherwell bombing refers to the murders of three police officers and a police informant in Motherwell, Eastern Cape, on 14 December 1989. The South African Press Association reported that De Kock was forced to take part in the bombing to ensure that he could not testify against his superiors. The affidavit further stated that the Cradock Four's families' legal representatives requested that De Kock be put on the list of persons of interest. In De Kock's affidavits that formed part of the litigation against the police's decisions to refuse him legal funding for the inquest, there were arguments about whether he was considered a witness or suspect at the inquest. When police refused De Kock's first application for funding, they said it was because he exceeded his powers as they laboured under the averment that he was a suspect. This was also after he was told he was a suspect by a state attorney. Police said this was a factual inaccuracy. In an email giving feedback on the case management meeting, a prosecutor stated that the NPA considered De Kock an essential witness because he had received amnesty for his role in the matter. 'Although he can, therefore, not be prosecuted on the offence for which he had been granted amnesty, [he] could still be considered a person of interest for the role he played in covering up the matter,' the email reads. 'History and infamy' De Kock – who was dubbed 'Prime Evil' for his role as the commander of a notorious Vlakplaas death squad that carried out the torture and executions of people fighting against the apartheid regime – said he was not involved in the murder or planning of the murder of the Cradock Four, which he documented in his amnesty application before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In 1999, De Kock was granted amnesty in respect of defeating the ends of justice related to the Cradock Four murders. While De Kock reportedly knew about the killings, he was not personally responsible for them, according to the Foundation for Human Rights. Despite this, De Kock, in an affidavit, said it was 'possible and highly probable that individuals can fabricate versions to implicate me, in order to 'save themselves''. 'It is also possible and probable that individuals can fabricate versions to implicate me as a result of my history and infamy,' De Kock added. There have been two previous inquests into the murders of the Cradock Four, both of which made no findings against De Kock. He had also not been called to give evidence in the previous inquests. De Kock was paroled in 2015 after spending two decades in prison for his crimes, including murder, which he did not receive amnesty for at the TRC.
Bloomberg
4 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Oil Workers Detained in Equatorial Guinea Return to South Africa
South African contractors jailed in Equatorial Guinea after working in the country's offshore oil fields returned home on Saturday following more than two years of detention. Peter Huxham and Frik Potgieter, both South African nationals, were arrested on drug-trafficking charges in February 2023, days after a South African court ordered the seizure of one of Equatorial Guinean Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue's yachts. The two incidents were linked, Bloomberg reported in April last year.
