Equatorial Guinea lashes back over superyacht

GEORGE NEWS - The Equatorial Guinean government has threatened to confiscate South African assets if the multimillion rand superyacht Blue Shadow, that belongs to their vice-president, Teodorin Nguema Obiang, is not released.

The South African government has officially informed Equatorial Guinea that the 67m luxury yacht has been confiscated.

Equatorial Guinea says that the ship had been in South Africa for three years for repair work and demands its release.

The sheriff seized Obiang's superyacht in the Cape Town harbour last Tuesday, 7 February, so that the vessel can be sold at a public auction to honour a court order that Obiang has to pay about R40m in damages to Hoekwil businessman Daniel Janse van Rensburg.

Two of Obiang's luxury homes in Clifton and Bishopscourt, along with the furniture, were also seized earlier.

Obiang tried everything in his power in South Africa to avoid paying damages to Janse van Rensburg, before the yacht was seized. The yacht is believed to be worth R300m.

The multimillion-rand boat, Blue Shadow, that was seized last week in Cape Town.

Vice-president ordered to pay

The court ordered that Obiang pay damages to Janse van Rensburg after the latter was imprisoned illegally in the notorious Black Beach Prison in September 2013. Janse van Rensburg had set up an airline in Equatorial Guinea with the president's brother-in-law, Gabriel Mba Angabi, who withdrew from the venture at the last minute and demanded a financial refund.

The dispute led to Angabi phoning Obiang, who was the second vice-president of the country, in charge of defence and security at the time, as well as the political head in charge of the armed forces, police and prisons.

Within minutes after the phone call, an elite security force arrested Janse van Rensburg on trumped-up charges and threw him into Black Beach Prison.

The superyacht, Blue Shadow, was seized from Obiang last week.

The worst prison in the world

The prison is described by the United Nations Human Rights Watch as the worst prison in the world. It has a reputation for systematically neglecting and brutalising inmates. Medical treatment is routinely denied and food rations are meagre.

While Janse van Rensburg was in prison, he was assaulted by fellow inmates and forced to witness many atrocities, including murder, stabbings and rape. He returned to his family in September 2015. He remained incarcerated for 491 days until his release in 2015.

Daniel Janse van Rensburg