Playboy Teddy’s SA “hostages” in Equatorial Guinea

This month (February) one year ago two South African engineers were arrested in Equatorial Guinea under the guise of illegal drug trafficking. It is believed that their detention was in retaliation for the seizure in South Africa of two luxury properties and a super yacht belonging to the country’s playboy Vice-President “Teddy” Obiang. Frik Potgieter (54) and Peter Huxham (55) were subsequently convicted and sentenced to 12-years’ imprisonment. They were also fined “damages” of $5 million each and additional fines to be shared between them.  Their families are “deeply disappointed that the South African government has not sought to prioritise the illegal and arbitrary detention of two of its citizens over its current high-profile international diplomacy efforts”. Their families are pleading with the Government to help secure their release. In this interview with BizNews, Frik’s wife, Sonja, and Peter’s fiancé, Kathy McConnachie, share their trauma. - Chris Steyn