Engineers Rescued from Equatorial Guinea Jail After Two-Year Ordeal

Fri Jul 18 2025 08:36:56 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)
Engineers Rescued from Equatorial Guinea Jail After Two-Year Ordeal

South African engineers Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham return home following a presidential pardon after spending over two years in Equatorial Guinea's prison on disputed drug charges.


Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, South African engineers held in an Equatorial Guinea jail since February 2023 on allegedly arbitrary drug charges, have been pardoned and returned home. Their case has raised international concern regarding the legality of their arrest, reportedly linked to the seizure of assets from the vice-president of Equatorial Guinea.


Two South African engineers, Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, have finally been reunited with their families after enduring a harrowing two-year imprisonment in Equatorial Guinea. Their release follows a presidential pardon granted by the government, which has been described by the United Nations as resting on "arbitrary and illegal" grounds. The engineers, both in their mid-50s, found themselves embroiled in a legal nightmare after being arrested in February 2023 for allegedly carrying drugs in their luggage as they were about to return home from a work assignment.

Initially sentenced to a staggering 12 years in prison and fined $5 million (£4 million), their predicament drew widespread attention and sparked a dedicated campaign for their release from their families and the South African government. The engineers, who were employed by the Dutch oil and gas firm SBM, were arrested just days following a highly publicized asset seizure involving Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President, Teodoro Nguema Obiang, whose luxury items, including a yacht and properties in Cape Town, were confiscated by South African authorities.

Expressing their overwhelming relief, the families of Potgieter and Huxham released a statement highlighting the deep emotional toll of the past two years. South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola expressed gratitude towards Equatorial Guinea’s government for the pardon, illustrating diplomatic efforts that facilitated the engineers' return to safety.

The legality of their detention has been questioned by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, prompting calls for their release based on the assertion that their imprisonment was unjust. According to family claims, the engineers’ arrest was likely retaliatory due to the earlier actions taken against Vice-President Obiang's assets. Despite the troubling circumstances surrounding their arrest, their return marks a significant relief for their families and a broader reflection on international diplomatic efforts to safeguard citizens wrongfully detained abroad.

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