Cape Town - The release of a second video showing kidnapped South African paramedic Gert Jacobus (Gerco) van Deventer has given his spouse and family a renewed sense of hope that his captors are willing to recommence negotiations for his release.
While on his way to the Awbari power plant in Libya, where he was to be stationed as an on-site paramedic for a Turkish company, Van Deventer was kidnapped along with three Turkish engineers on November 3, 2017.
Eight months later, he was reportedly sold to Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate branch in Mali.
Gift of the Givers has been involved in the case since 2019, after having been approached by the family. At the time, Van Deventer’s captors demanded $3 million, which was later negotiated down to $500 000.
Gift of the Givers does not pay any ransom but facilitates negotiations through intermediaries, with the decision left to the family, company or government on whether to forge ahead and accede to the hostage takers’ demands. Gift of the Givers is not part of this final process.
Van Deventer’s wife Shereen said the recent video was a positive sign that the kidnappers were ready to re-establish communications to negotiate for her husband’s release.
“It is a situation that takes time to connect with the right people to start negotiations. The intermediary is making contact with a chain of people, and in the end they will hopefully make contact with the captors to then negotiate my husband’s release,” she said.
“I only know what I see from the video on social media. He looks well enough considering he was shot at one point. He also does not look like he has lost a lot of weight, which to me means they have at least looked after him to some degree.”
Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman said the group’s hostage negotiator, Mohamed Yayha Dicko, a South African of Malian origin, left for Mali on Saturday night and arrived on Sunday. Dicko has since made contact with intermediaries who then communicate with the captors.
Sooliman said they had made two videos, one of Van Deventer’s wife and another of his son, making a compassionate plea for his release during the Muslim holy month of Ramadaan.
Dicko received a video made by Van Deventer dated March 15 from the intermediaries. In the video, the husband and father of thre, said he believed that he was the only South African held by al-Qaeda jihadists in the north of Mali.
Since January, the organisation has received two videos, which are not made very often, according to Sooliman.
“Our negotiator is contemplating moving to the north, it's the area where most hostages are held. I’m waiting for feedback from him on his decision to see what is possible.”