Book review
Publish date: 22 August 2022
Issue Number: 991
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: General
Black Beach
Daniel Janse van Rensburg and Tracey Pharoah
Penguin, R320
What was supposed to be a short business trip to Equatorial Guinea turned into a journey to the depths of hell. Black Beach, located on Bioko island off the mainland of Equatorial Guinea, is one of the world’s most feared prisons, notorious for its brutality and inhumane conditions. In 2013, South African businessman Daniel Janse van Rensburg set off to the West African country to finalise a legitimate airline contract with a local politician. Within days, Daniel was arrested by the local Rapid Intervention Force and detained without trial in the island’s infamous ‘Guantanamo’ cells, and was later taken to Black Beach. This is his remarkable story of survival over nearly two years, made possible by his unwavering faith and the humanity of a few fellow inmates. In this thrilling first-person narrative, Daniel relives his ordeal, describing the harrowing conditions in the prison, his extraordinary experiences there, and his ceaseless hope to return to South Africa and be reunited with his family. A story of courage in the face of overwhelming adversity, Black Beach demonstrates the strength of the human spirit and the toll injustice takes on ordinary people who fall foul of the powerful and corrupt.
