Daniel Janse van Rensburg has been embroiled in protracted
litigation with Obiang over his detention in the central African country.
Obiang, who has gained international notoriety for his taste for life's finer
things, is the son of the president.
Janse van Rensburg was twice held in Equatorial Guinea’s
notorious Black Beach prison despite being cleared of allegations of fraud and
theft.
His ordeal, which entailed “torture, inhumane and degrading
treatment”, spanned 549 days of detention, 423 of which were at Black Beach.
According to Janse van Rensburg, who is from George in the
southern Cape, he was arrested at the instance of Obiang’s uncle, Gabriel Mba
Bela.
He sued Obiang, who “was at all relevant times the minister
in charge of state security and prisons in Equatorial Guinea and was
responsible for his unlawful arrest, imprisonment and torture”, after his
return to SA in 2015.
Janse van Rensburg, who was involved in a business
activities in several African countries, demanded R65m for the “multiple unlawful arrests, imprisonment
and torture”.
In 2017, the high court in Cape Town ordered the attachment
of Obiang’s SA properties, and on Friday it ordered the vice-president to pay
Janse van Rensburg more than R39.8m in damages.
Acting judge James Lekhuleni said: “[Janse van Rensburg]
was tremendously affected by the prison conditions.
“[He was] incarcerated in a prison cell with about 400
prisoners who had to use two bathrooms, of which the toilets were constantly
blocked and overflowing. As a result thereof, he frequently vomited in the
bathroom.
“There was no running water or toilet paper. Inmates used
their hands to clean their buttocks and wiped their hands on the walls. As a
result, he got sick.
“The effects of torture were evident in court when he gave
his testimony. He appeared to be tense, nervous, anxious, and he expressed himself
with difficulty during his testimony.
“The after-effects of his arrest are still overwhelming him
and it seems this will take a long time to normalise if it does not remain with
him for the rest of his life.”
Lekhuleni said Janse van Rensburg might not be able to work
again. “He indicated that he suffered from fatigue and dizziness brought on
most often by frequent panic attacks.
"[He] also alluded to the fact that he is always tense
and nervous, imagining imminent danger at every turn. For instance, he finds
himself looking anxiously outside before he goes to bed and when he wakes up.
He obsessively rechecks the door locks in the house and he had great difficulty
in trusting anyone, even his wife and family.”
Lekhuleni was critical of Obiang’s conduct. “I must say
with respect that this is an extraordinary case of unlawful arrest and
detention,” he said.
“This is a case that epitomises a sheer abuse of power and
authority by [Obiang]. [Janse van Rensburg] was fortunate to have survived this
ordeal.
"[Obiang] defied orders issued by judges in his
country who after listening to [Janse van Rensburg’s] case found that there was
no basis for him to be arrested or detained. They released him.
“Though they released him and gave him permission to leave
the country [Obiang] abused his power and rearrested [him] to demonstrate his
total disregard of the rule of law.”
Lekhuleni said Obiang tried to evade liability and
"[his] conduct in this court was highly reproachable”.
He added: "[He] defied the orders of this court and
this resulted in the striking out of his case. [Obiang] appeared to be a law
unto himself and that conduct cannot be tolerated.”
TimesLIVE
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