South Africa – The Citizen, November 17, 2024
South African businessman Daniel Janse van Rensburg has endured a gruelling nine-year court battle against the Vice-President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodorin Obiang, regarding his illegal incarceration in the notorious Black Beach Prison between 2013 and 2015.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Appeal will hear Obiang’s petition against the refusal by a full bench of the Cape High Court to rescind Judge Slingers’ judgment from December 2021, where Obiang was denied leave to appeal Judge Lekhuleni’s decision awarding Janse van Rensburg R39 882 000 in damages.
The case, widely publicised internationally, has drawn outrage at the ‘president-in-waiting’s’ jet-set lifestyle and abuse of power, while most of the population of this small, wealthy country endures severe hardship, with many living below the poverty line.
“I have absolute faith in the judicial system and know the judges hearing this appeal will see this as yet another stalling tactic by Teodorin Obiang to avoid settling my award,” said Janse van Rensburg.
“Meanwhile, two innocent South African men [Frik Potgieter from George and Peter Huxham from Langebaan] are suffering under horrific conditions in Equatorial Guinea’s prison in apparent retaliation for my seizure of Obiang’s superyacht, the Blue Shadow, in February 2023. I believe that justice will prevail, and I can move on with my life, while the two men, who were inadvertently caught up in this drama, will be reunited with their families.”
