Seized yacht thought to belong to Equatorial Guinea's vice-president released
Cape Town -The luxury yacht Blue Shadow seized in Cape Town following a Western Cape High Court order two weeks ago has been released.
The vessel was thought to belong to Equatorial Guinea Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang.
The release came after a series of tweets by Obiang in which he said the vessel was in fact a military asset belonging to the Equatorial Guinea Defence Force and threatened diplomatic consequences against South Africa if the yacht was not released.
The court ordered the seizure two weeks ago after Western Cape businessman Daniel Janse van Rensburg won a lawsuit against Obiang for unlawful arrest and torture and imprisonment at Equatorial Guinea’s notorious Black Beach prison between 2013 and 2015, after a business deal went wrong.
Van Rensberg said his lawyers told him Obiang petitioned the Sheriff of the Court, seeking the immediate release of the yacht which was to have been auctioned for R39.8m.
The Cape Town East Sheriff of the Court, who carried out the seizure, confirmed the release.
On Monday Obiang Tweeted: “24 hours after the announcement of our blunt package of measures against South Africa, the Defence Ministry boat which was held by the racists of Cape Town to scam $2 million (R36.5 million) has already been released.”
24 horas después del anuncio de nuestro contundente paquete de medidas contra Sudáfrica, ya se ha liberado el barco del M° de Defensa que retenían los racistas de Cape Town para estafarme $2 millones.
— teddy nguema (@teonguema) February 20, 2023
A titulo de información, #GuineaEcuatorial no negocia con golpistas
Meanwhile, following the arrest of two South Africans in Equatorial Guinea two days after the court order on the seizure was issued, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) would not comment on whether the incidents were related.
Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela however confirmed the arrests of Frederic Potgieter and Peter Huxham, from George and Langebaan respectively, and said the two, who are employed in Equatorial Guinea, were facing charges for possession of drugs.
They were arrested at a hotel on March 9 while preparing for their flight to South Africa on March 10 and are being held at Black Beach Prison.
The two appeared before a judge on February 13, Monyela said: “According to the company legal representative, the reason for being incarcerated at Black Beach is common in Equatorial Guinea and they consider it as preventive incarceration to avoid fleeing the country.”
He said the authorities in Equatorial Guinea had 30 days to complete their investigations but in the meantime the two were receiving consular visits by South African diplomats.
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za