By Kouthar Sambo

After extensive back-and-forth negotiations, the humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers announced the unconditional release of South African parademic Gerco van Deventer.

“He was taken in Libya on Friday, 3 November 2017, sold to JNIM (Al-Qaeda) in Mali in 2018, and finally released unconditionally yesterday, after a period of six years and one month, making him the longest held South African hostage in captivity,” proclaimed Gift of the Givers in a statement.

At the request of the family, Gift of the Givers intervened in 2018, with the initial request being 3 million USD.

“Over a period of time, we negotiated the amount down to 500k USD. The family could not afford the ransom, there was no benefactor, and the company that Gerco had just commenced work for could not assist,” detailed Gift of the Givers.

“Gift of the Givers does not pay ransom but acts as a facilitator on behalf of distraught families wanting to bring home their loved ones. There is no fee for our intervention,” reiterated the organisation.

The organisation added that negotiations were stalled, especially when Covid-19 hit hard, and the family had no ransom to pay for the captive’s release. However, this did not stop the organisation from trying to reunite de Deventer with his family.

According to the organisation, it has been six “agonising years of prayer, patience, and hope.”

“Late last night, one of the trusted intermediaries called us to say that Gerco has been released into Algeria. He could not be released through Mali, apparently because of the current new war between the Mali military and the Tuaregs,” explained Gift of the Givers.

“South African State Security confirmed last night that Algerian State Security called to inform them that Gerco is freed, is with them, and taken to hospital for a health review,” added the organisation.

Photo: Gift of the Givers/Facebook