Gift of the Givers has announced the unconditional release of Gerco van Deventer, who was taken hostage in Libya in November 2017.

He is South Africa’s longest-held foreign hostage.

According to Gift of the Givers, Van Deventer was sold to Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) in Mali in 2018 and finally released unconditionally yesterday, after six years and one month.

Gift of the Givers, at the request of the family, got involved in 2018 and made contact with JNIM, which the organisation had previously dealt with for the release of Stephen McGown, Johan Gustafsson and Christo Bothma, and having connected negotiators from various countries to them on behalf of multiple hostages.

Explaining the road to Van Deventer’s release, Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman says the initial request for Van Deventer was $3m, and over a period of time, the amount was negotiated down to $500 000.

“The family could not afford the ransom, there was no benefactor, and the company that Gerco had just commenced work for could not assist. 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,” says Sooliman.

“Our first case was the unconditional release of South African Yolande Korkie on January 10, 2014, in Yemen. We secured the unconditional release of her husband Pierre Korkie on December 6, 2014, but US marines attempted a rescue of their hostage, Luke Somers, [and] on that fatal day, both Pierre and Luke were killed.

“Having no ransom to pay for Van Deventer and no further leverage, negotiations stalled and eventually, with Covid-19, went cold completely until January 2023 when one of Gift of the Givers’ intermediary contacts in Mali requested to restart the talks.

“We had nothing new to offer. Nevertheless, we tried again.

“In Ramadan of this year, we requested unconditional, ransom-free release as hearts are generally softened during the fasting period. Letters from religious leaders were forwarded to support our request. We tried again during the period of Hajj (pilgrimage), a very significant time.

“Then came the Morocco earthquake, we offered assistance but it was not required, however, it drew a response from the captives who have links with Morocco, and through the intermediaries, we received an indirect message of appreciation.

“We used that moment to request unconditional release once again. Then with our intervention in Gaza, one of the chief intermediaries in Mali with who we have had a relationship since 2015, requested video messages from the family, the public and the private ones.”

“The request came on November 16, several hours after Gift of the Givers’ office head in Gaza, Ahmed Abbasi, was directly targeted and murdered by Israeli Occupation Forces after returning from morning prayer; his brother was killed too.

“We are not sure if this had any relevance. On December 5, we received a call from someone in Mauritania who said they are working on the release. We don’t know the person; have never had contact with him previously,” explains Sooliman.

He says late last night, one of the intermediaries called to inform Gift of the Givers that Van Deventer had been released in Algeria.

He could not be released through Mali, apparently because of the new war between the Mali military and the Tuaregs.

Sooliman says efforts are being made to urgently bring Van Deventer home to be reunited with his wife Shereen and son Asher.