Latest news with #Huxham
Eyewitness News
10 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
SA engineer held in Equatorial Guinea for 860 days speaks out after pardon and release
On the night of 9 February 2023, Potgieter and Huxham, who were on a work trip, were separately summoned to the hotel's reception, unaware that they were about to be arrested on fabricated drug trafficking charges. Unbeknownst to them, their arrest followed South Africa's seizure of luxury assets belonging to Equatorial Guinea's vice president. Just two days before the men were arrested, the South African courts had impounded the vice president's super yacht, and before this, South African courts had seized his two luxury villas in Cape Town. They were detained for 860 days.
The Citizen
22-06-2025
- The Citizen
Free after 2 years in foreign prison: SA engineers back on home soil
After enduring more than two harrowing years behind bars in Equatorial Guinea, Frik Potgieter, from George, and Langebaan resident Peter Huxham have finally returned to South African soil. The two men, who were detained in Equatorial Guinea on 9 February 2023, have returned safely to South African soil following a presidential pardon granted by the President of Equatorial Guinea. Their families confirmed their release last night (21 June). 'This brings an end to an ordeal of anguish, uncertainty and unwavering efforts by many to secure their freedom,' said family spokespersons Shaun Murphy and Francois Nigrini. 'We are overwhelmed with relief and joy. The last two years and four months have been unimaginably painful for both our families. Today, we are finally able to say: Frik and Peter are safely back home,' the families' spokespersons said. Shock after drug charges Potgieter and Huxham are both engineers who were working for the Dutch company SBM Offshore in Equatorial Guinea when they were arrested at their hotel in Malabo on drug-related charges after it was alleged that a cocaine shipment was discovered on the same international flight the men were on. They were convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. In addition, they were ordered to pay $5M USD (R93,7m at the time of publishing) each in damages, with additional fines to be shared between them. Potgieter and Huxham vehemently denied all charges from the outset and were shocked that any allegations related to drugs would be brought against them. Their arrest in 2023 came two days after the high court in Cape Town authorised the attachment of a R300m superyacht, Blue Shadow, owned by Equatorial Guinea's vice-president Teodorin Nguema Obiang. The court order related to civil matter between Obiang and another South African. The long fight for freedom In July 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the Potgieter and Huxham's imprisonment was unlawful and violated numerous international human rights obligations. The UN also called for their immediate release at the time. The families expressed deep gratitude to all those who supported them throughout the ordeal. This includes Frik and Peter's employer, SBM Offshore; the South African and UK governments; international diplomatic partners; parliamentarians; legal teams; Hostage International; civil society organisations; and members of the media. They also extended their thanks to former Minister of International Relations, Dr Naledi Pandor, and current minister Ronald Lamola, who both travelled to Equatorial Guinea as presidential envoys on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Thousands of individuals across the globe signed petitions, supported media advocacy campaigns, offered emotional support and kept the families in their thoughts and prayers. 'Their return home is the result of collective efforts over many, many months, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who played a role in securing their freedom,' said the families. 'This has been a long and difficult journey. We want to thank every person who stood with us – your support carried us through our darkest moments.' The families have now asked for privacy as the men begin the process of recovery and healing. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Telegraph
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Family plead with Government to free ‘diplomatic hostage' jailed in Africa
The family of a British engineer imprisoned on 'trumped-up' charges in central Africa has pleaded with the Government to do more to win his release. The family of Peter Huxham, who has dual South African nationality, say Equatorial Guinea has made him a 'political hostage' in retaliation for the South African courts seizing luxury villas and a superyacht belonging to the vice-president. The 55-year-old offshore oil engineer has been held along with a colleague for nearly 750 days in a case condemned by the United Nations as illegal. The UN's body on arbitrary detention has issued a lengthy ruling saying the men were denied a fair trial and should be immediately released. Diplomatic missions have failed However, the government in Equatorial Guinea is refusing to comply and high-level diplomatic missions to the country have failed to win their release. Mr Huxham's family say his mental health has suffered in prison, and they fear he will not survive his 12-year sentence. Kathy McConnachie, his fiancée, told The Telegraph: 'I would just like both governments, South Africa and the UK, to try and do more. We need them home. Our lives are very empty without these men at home.' Mr Huxham and Frik Potgieter, a South African, were working for a Dutch firm in Equatorial Guinea's offshore oil industry when they were arrested in February 2023. Their detention came two days after a South African court ordered the seizure of a superyacht belonging to Teodoro Obiang Mangue, the Equatorial Guinea vice-president. The courts had earlier seized two luxury villas in Cape Town belonging to Mr Mangue, who is the son of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea. Mr Huxham and Mr Potgieter were accused of drug trafficking and each jailed for 12 years at a trial their families say was a farce. The men were alleged to have drugs in their luggage, but their families say their bags, combination-locked and unopened, were still in their rooms five days later, when their employer collected them in the presence of hotel management and the local police. The family believes the two men are effectively political prisoners taken to exert pressure on South Africa to return the vice-president's assets. Equatorial Guinea's press and information office did not reply to Telegraph requests for comment. The country's vice-president has long been accused of stealing his nation's wealth. In 2021, Britain froze his bank accounts and imposed a travel ban for his 'involvement in the misappropriation of state funds into his own personal bank accounts, corrupt contracting arrangements and soliciting bribes'. The Foreign Office at the time alleged his 'lavish lifestyle' included a £ 79 million mansion in Paris, a £30 million private jet, a luxury yacht, and dozens of luxury vehicles including Ferraris, Bentleys and Aston Martins. Mr Mangue is also reported to have bought a collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia including a £218,000 crystal-covered glove the singer wore on his Bad tour. He has previously denied wrongdoing. Mr Huxham was born in Sussex to a British mother and South African father, before moving to South Africa as a child. He has spent much of his career working in the oil and gas sector in Equatorial Guinea. His brother Mark, a Royal Mail worker living in Northamptonshire, said: 'I have sleepless nights. I worry about him. Is he getting enough food?' Ronald Lamola, the foreign minister of South Africa, and Naledi Pandor, his predecessor, have both travelled to Equatorial Guinea to seek the men's release, without success. The jailed men have been allowed only around 10 phone calls to their families in the past two years. Ms McConnachie, who has been with Mr Huxham for 32 years, said he used his first call to propose to her. Before his fateful trip to Equatorial Guinea, the couple had begun building their dream home in Langebaan, South Africa. Ms McConnachie has since finished it on her own, in anticipation of his release. 'I will do my best to survive for you' She said: 'As I said to Peter one day, 'It doesn't help having all these belongings and all these nice things if you are not here to share it with us.'' The uncertainty around his case has badly strained Mr Huxham's mental health, she added. 'The first two times I spoke to him he was very strong, then the ones in the middle, he was very tearful,' she said. 'He had given up hope that anything was going to happen, because they don't hear much. 'The last conversation with him, he said, 'I have had a change of tune, it just came over me. I have to survive. I am going to do my very best and survive for you people and see this through.'' A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are providing support to Mr Huxham and his family and continue to raise his case with the Equatorial Guinean government at every appropriate opportunity.'
