Former hostage battles daily

KNYSNA NEWS - While a Garden Route businessman is celebrating a year of freedom since his release from the notorious Black Beach prison where he was illegally held for two years after a business deal went sour, coming to grips with the horrors he experienced in Equatorial Guinea remains a daily struggle.

On Monday, September 26 it was exactly a year since 50-year-old Daniel Janse van Rensburg from Hoekwil in Wilderness was reunited with his family after several dramatic attempts to return to South Africa.

Janse van Rensburg's freedom came after two years in and out of prison amid claims by businessman and politician Gabriel Bela Angabi that he owed him R1-million, after Janse van Rensburg assisted Angabi in establishing an airline in the country.

He was however cleared by a local court of any wrongdoing but was still detained due to what Janse van Rensburg believes was Angabi's influence.

Janse van Rensburg had all the documentation showing that he was free to leave the country right from the start, and with the help of the South African embassy there, he was on the brink of coming home three times, but he said that every time Angabi and his “men” stopped him.

Embassy staff, his lawyer and various other government departments finally assisted him in leaving the country on September 26 last year.

“Physically I’m doing very well. I’ve picked up some of the weight I lost in prison and started exercising. I’ve also started riding my mountain bike again, which also helps to clear the head a bit,” Van Rensburg said.

Emotionally and psychologically, however, he was still battling, he added. Janse van Rensburg has not discussed in detail what had happened to him behind bars, but said that it was like being “a caged animal” where he was given food not fit for human consumption.

He was locked up with hardened criminals including murderers and was forced to sleep on the floor where the stench of blood and other bodily fluids became unbearable. He contracted malaria several times and lost about 12kg.

“I suffer from severe posttraumatic stress disorder and my mind’s way of dealing with the horrors has been blocking details out. There are still large gaps in my memory about the time at Black Beach,” Janse van Rensburg said.

He added that while he has had several business offers since his return, he had not been able to work yet. “My memory is really terrible, I forget things and I am unable to concentrate for long. I have therefore been very hesitant to commit to anything business-related.”

He said that he had been seeing a psychologist and was receiving counselling at his local church.

“I’ve also been writing everything down as I’ve been told it is a good way to work through trauma. I’m writing a book, but for now it is only for myself.”

He said his family was also still battling to come to grips with the ordeal. “Two years is a long time and it took its toll on my wife and two children.”

“But we are a close family. My wife Melanie and I were high school sweethearts and we’ve been together for more than 30 years, so we are picking up the pieces and taking it one day at a time.”

He added that the support from the Hoekwil community, his friends and family has helped him “tremendously”.

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