SA Parliament calls for release of 2 innocent South African engineers illegally imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea

23 October 2024

The families of Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, the two South African engineers who have been illegally imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea since 9 February 2023, are deeply grateful to the South African Parliament which yesterday adopted a unanimous motion calling for their immediate release.

The two South Africans were arrested in that country two days after South African courts seized the luxury super yacht belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President, Teodore Nguema Obiang Mangue, the President’s son.  Earlier, the SA courts had also seized the Vice President’s two luxury Cape Town villas (Clifton and Bishopscourt).  These assets were impounded following a court ruling in SA on a separate matter, completely unrelated to Peter and Frik. 

Shaun Murphy, spokesman for the Potgieter family said: “The South African Parliament has effectively endorsed the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s formal opinion, issued in July this year, which concluded that Peter and Frik’s arrests and ongoing detention are arbitrary and illegal, and called for their immediate release.  The imprisonment of these two innocent men by the Government of Equatorial Guinea is a direct violation of fundamental human rights, including the right to liberty and security of person, as enshrined in international law.”

Francois Nigrini, spokesman for the Huxham family said: “The outpouring of support for Frik and Peter’s release has been nothing short of extraordinary, from both the South African public and the international community. Nearly 15,000 signatories from around the globe have added their voices to the FreeFrikandPeter.co.za petition, calling for immediate justice. This groundswell of support should be a clear signal to our Government to do whatever it takes to secure their immediate release and prioritise their case. Frik and Peter were innocent victims of being the wrong nationality, at the wrong place, at the wrong time. This kind of hostage diplomacy is a gross injustice and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

The motion without notice was tabled by Emma Powell of the Democratic Alliance in Parliament and was adopted unanimously as follows:

That the House -

1.      condemns the ongoing unlawful imprisonment of two innocent South African citizens, Mr Frik Potgieter and Mr Peter Huxham, in Equatorial Guinea since 9 February 2023;

2.      notes the Formal Opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued on 1 July 2024 which concluded that Mr Potgieter and Mr Huxham’s arrest and ongoing detention in Equatorial Guinea is arbitrary, illegal and a gross violation of human rights, and that they should be released immediately;

3.      reaffirms South Africa’s commitment to international law and human rights and supports efforts to ensure accountability for actions that violate these principles;

4.      stands in support of the families of Mr Potgieter and Mr Huxham, who are suffering because of their loved ones’ illegal detention; and

5.      calls on the South African authorities to facilitate for the immediate release of Mr Potgieter and Mr Huxham;

Background to illegal detention of Peter Huxham and Frik Potgieter in Equatorial Guinea

·        On 9 February 2023, two innocent engineers, Peter Huxham (56) and Frederik (Frik) Potgieter (54) were arrested in Equatorial Guinea (EG) on trumped up drug trafficking charges. Peter was born in the UK and holds dual UK/ SA citizenship. Frik is a South African citizen. Peter and Frik, who both work on vessels for Dutch oil and gas company SBM Offshore in Equatorial Guinea, had just completed a 5 week rotation in the country, and were due to fly home to South Africa the following day. Until the time of their arrest, Peter and Frik had never met each other.

·        What Peter and Frik didn’t know was that just two days before their arrests, South African (SA) courts had seized a luxury super yacht belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President, Teodore Nguema Obiang Mangue.  Earlier, the SA courts had also seized the Vice-President’s two luxury Cape Town villas (Clifton and Bishopscourt).  These assets were impounded following a court ruling in SA on a separate matter, completely unrelated to Peter and Frik.  The Vice President of Equatorial Guinea was furious with SA, as was noted on his social media posts during the time of Frik and Peter’s arrests.

·        On 1 July 2024, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a formal opinion and concluded that Peter and Frik’s arrests and ongoing detention are arbitrary and illegal, and called for their immediate release.  The arbitrary detention of individuals is a direct violation of fundamental human rights, including the right to liberty and security of person, as enshrined in international law. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights explicitly safeguard individuals from arbitrary arrest and detention.

·        Peter and Frik’s ‘court case’ in June 2023 in Equatorial Guinea was a farce. No credible evidence, witnesses, or expert testimonies were presented to the court by the State, nor was any proof presented that the alleged drugs were found on Peter or Frik, or that indeed they were drugs. It was alleged that the drugs were found in their luggage, but this could not have been true.  Their luggage, combination-locked and unopened, was still in their rooms five days later when their employer collected them in the presence of hotel management and the local police.

·        The men each received a 12-year prison sentence, and are being held in a prison reserved for political prisoners in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea. They were also ordered to pay USD $5 million each in damages, and additional fines to be shared between them.   The sentences were based on outdated penalties for the alleged crimes, indicating an unsettling departure from the country’s new Criminal Code. Needless to say, an appeal has been lodged against the manner in which the court case was handled, as well as against these enormously high sentences.

·        Even though the super yacht has been released, the villas remain impounded in South Africa, and the men remain in prison in Equatorial Guinea for close to 21 months now. It is evident that these innocent men are caught in the diplomatic and political crossfire between South Africa and Equatorial Guinea.  They were simply the wrong nationality, at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

·        Peter and Frik are beloved husbands, fathers and grandfathers.  They are both highly experienced and professional engineers who have maintained an impeccable professional record in the oil and gas industry, both in Equatorial Guinea and abroad in other countries. Although working for the same company for 11 and 15 years respectively, the men had not met prior to their arrest, and they were working on two separate vessels.  They have received numerous accolades over the years for their achievements and commitment to mentoring young people at work, mainly local Equatorial Guinean employees.  Both men are deeply respected and valued within their families, church groups and communities. 

·        The families of Peter and Frik are devastated and growing more distraught and concerned for their physical and mental wellbeing as the months pass since they last saw them. 

·        The South African Department of International Relations (DIRCO’s) consular desk has managed to arrange just five visits by their officials to the men in the past 20 months.  Another visit was arranged by the UK High Commissioner, as Peter holds dual UK/SA citizenship.  Frik and Peter have not seen their families since before their arrests and have no means to speak to their families outside of these consular visits.

·        Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 expressly states that countries be granted access to detainees in other countries.  Again, both Equatorial Guinea and South Africa are signatories for the Convention, however, South African and UK consular authorities have, despite numerous requests, found it challenging to secure visits.

·        On 5 May 2024, Naledi Pandor, former Minister of International Relations and Cooperation for South Africa, visited Equatorial Guinea to seek the release of Frik and Peter. She met with her counterpart, Simeon Oyono Esono Angue, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Diaspora, as well as Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the President of Equatorial Guinea.   As per the Minister’s media statement on her return to South Africa: “Minister Pandor took advantage of her presence in Equatorial Guinea to raise with the authorities South Africa’s concerns regarding the incarceration of two South African citizens in the country. The Minister reiterated South Africa’s plea to the government of Equatorial Guinea for the release of the incarcerated South African citizens. Engagements on this matter are continuing.”  

·        On 22 July 2024, journalist Peter Fabricius wrote in Daily Maverick that the President of Equatorial Guinea had made it very clear to former Minister Pandor that Peter and Frik would not be released until the Vice President’s seized luxury homes in Cape Town were returned to him. This information has never been directly communicated to the families by DIRCO or the former Minister’s office.

·        On 21 August 2024, the families of Peter and Frik attended a sitting of the South African Parliamentary Portfolio on International Relations and Cooperation to request that the Committee summon the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and representatives of DIRCO to come and explain to the Committee what it was doing to secure the release of Peter and Frik, as well as to get regular access to them. The Committee confirmed it would do so, and DIRCO confirmed that Government was committed to helping to secure the men’s release.  No further details were provided to the committee.

·        On 26 August 2024, DIRCO held a media briefing on a range of international relations issues. It confirmed that its Ambassador to EG, Ambassador Nolufefe Dwabayo, had met with EG’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to raise SA’s concerns about Peter and Frik’s unlawful detention, to establish Equatorial Guinea’s response to the UN decision, and to ensure that consular visits are being permitted, as per the Vienna Convention. 

·        DIRCO also met with representatives of the Equatorial Guinean Government at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Minister Lamola explained to Daily Maverick’s Peter Fabricius in an article published on 15 October there had been no breakthrough in his recent meeting with his Equatorial Guinean counterpart Simeon Oyono Esono Angue. Lamola said “they are open to further dialogue on the matter. We did raise this as an issue of national interest for our country and as an issue of serious concern. And we think that they should definitely consider releasing them. We elevated this as a matter of national interest, and we were very clear. And we said we will be open to continuous engagement and dialogue on the matter with the hope that it will lead to a solution of them being released. We will continue to knock on the door. We will never get tired. But we don’t want to raise the hopes of the families by saying that they have agreed or there is a positive outcome from the government. At this stage, it is not yet positive, but we will not get tired to raise the issue of them being released.”  The families are disappointed that they had to receive this information through the media, and not directly from DIRCO.

In order to raise the profile of this matter, and seek support, the families of Frik and Peter launched an online petition, website and social media profiles on Facebook, X and LinkedIn in June this year. 

·        Website:  https://www.freefrikandpeter.co.za/

·        Petition with over 12 500 signatures

·        Social media:

·        On X/Twitter - https://x.com/frikandpeter

·        On Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/frikandpeter

·        On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/frikandpeter

Issued by families of Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, 23 October 2024