Two South African engineers, Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, have been released from an Equatoguinean prison after being held for two years.
The two men were arrested in February 2023 after drugs were allegedly found in their luggage. They were sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $5 million. They have now received presidential pardons after a campaign by the South African government and Potgieter’s and Huxham’s families.
They were arrested after assets belonging to a senior Equatoguinean government official, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mbasogo, were seized in South Africa. Obiang is the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president. The two men’s families said they were arrested in retaliation for the seizure of Obiang’s assets.
Last year the UN also said the men should be released, saying their detention was unlawful.
In a post on X, international relations minister Ronald Lamola said: “South Africa expresses its sincere gratitude to the Government of Equatorial Guinea for considering and ultimately granting this Presidential pardon, allowing Mr Huxham and Mr Potgieter to return home to their loved ones.”