It has been almost 10 years since a Garden Route father was illegally detained for 491 days at the notorious Black Beach Prison in Equatorial Guinea, where he witnessed the rape of young women and wanton violence and was subjected to inhumane treatment.
In addition, he suffered from typhoid fever, had four bouts of malaria, and even experienced organ failure while in jail.
His only crime? Backing out of an airline contract with a local politician, former Malabo mayor Gabriel Mba Bela Angabi.
Businessman and consultant Daniel Janse van Rensburg had spent nearly two years sourcing a plane and licensing it when Angabi announced that he wanted out of the deal in 2013.
Moments after the meeting, the country’s Rapid Intervention Force detained Janse van Rensburg without trial on the country’s Bioko Island prison, while Angabi demanded his deposit back.
A court in the country found him not guilty of any wrongdoing, but he was rearrested as he was about to board a plane back to SA.
Now the father of two is set to launch his book, Black Beach: 491 Days in One of Africa’s Most Brutal Prisons.
The book details the harrowing story of the business deal gone wrong, his prison stay, and what motivated him not to give up.
Speaking to The Herald on Thursday, a week before the official launch, Janse Van Rensburg said he had written the book as part of his healing process, as suggested by a doctor.
“When I arrived home, everyone wanted to know how I was doing and how it was, but I could never find the words to describe the dirt, the violence, and the dingy place that prison was,” he said
Speaking on what led to his arrest, he said he was an airline consultant and had been in Equatorial Guinea for business.
But when the deal soured with Angabi, the nightmare began.
“It’s a different prison because there’s no separation between men and women or children.”
He said he had been locked up with children just 11 or 12 years old, drug addicts, political prisoners and murderers.
“I witnessed the most horrendous things, but the worst was the rape of a young woman the night of her arrest for allegedly aiding bank robbers.
“There was nothing I could do because I also needed to survive,” he said.
Janse van Rensburg has since been embroiled in a lengthy civil battle, where he is claiming R70m from the vice-president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Nguema Obiang, for his wrongful arrest and detention.
Obiang is being sued in his personal capacity for allegedly abusing his position of power.
An order for Obiang’s estate in Clifton in the Western Cape to be attached is on appeal.
On his greatest lesson, Janse van Rensburg said: “There is always hope, you must never give up.
“I think that no matter how bad things get, there’s always hope if you believe in God.”
He said every day needed to be appreciated and the focus should not be on tomorrow.
His book will be launched during a private function in Hoekwil on Thursday next week, and there will be a public launch in Wilderness the next day.
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