SA’s ICJ case could help Equatorial Guinea prisoners

The families of two South African engineers detained in Equatorial Guinea a year ago believe the SA Government’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice shows it has the ‘authority, leadership and capabilities’ to get the two men released. The Daily Maverick reports that Frederik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, a dual SA-UK citizen, have been in detention in Equatorial Guinea for a year on what they insist are trumped-up charges. They believe that though they were ostensibly detained for illegal drug trafficking, the real reason was retaliation for SA seizing two luxury properties and a superyacht belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue. ‘Unfortunately, two innocent men have been caught in the crossfire,’ said Shaun Murphy, the spokesperson for the Potgieter family. ‘Frik and Peter are both highly experienced and professional engineers who were working for the Dutch company SBM Offshore in Equatorial Guinea at the time of their arrests,’ he added. The two men were arrested at their hotel in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on 9 February 2023, the night before they were due to fly back to SA following a five-week work rotation.