Families plead for release of SA men jailed in Equatorial Guinea

Families of the two South African engineers who have been imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea for more than 630 days say they fear for their well-being.

- Faizel Patel

They staged a peaceful protest outside Africa Energy Week held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday.

Frik Potgieter, a South African citizen, and Peter Huxham, a dual South African and United Kingdom citizen, have been in jail following what their families describe as trumped-up drug charges.

The duo were arrested in February last year in retaliation after a South African court ordered the seizure of a yacht and two luxury villas in Cape Town belonging to Equatorial Guinea Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.

With Equatorial Guinea government officials in attendance, the families appealed for clemency and the release of the two men, who have been held for almost 21 months.

The families said the 21 months of imprisonment had taken their toll on the health and mental well-being of the jailed pair.