Gabi

KREJCIR ESCAPE BID FOILED 2 – Pictures DJ COFFEE’S DANCE CHALLENGE 3 CONSUMER WATCH PAGE 8 BRAVE BUCS CONFIDENT 27 MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2015 Leading ladies EORGIE! BUSINESSREPORT Established October 17 1887 R7,50 inc VAT Annual subscribers: R6,56 G ASK For subscriptions contact:- ★★★★★ www.star.co.za ★ Locked up in jail for nearly two years over one man’s abuse of power Safe after prison hell EXCLUSIVE The worst part was that I couldn’t speak to my family JOY: Daniel Janse van Rensburg is welcomed home by family and friends at George Airport last night. PICTURE: FRAN KIRSTEN ELATED: An emotional Daniel Janse van Rensburg speaks to the media at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday, after nearly two years in the notorious Black Beach Prison in Equatorial Guinea. GABI FALANGA- T HE FIRST thing Daniel Janse van Rensburg did when his flight from Equatorial Guinea touched down in Joburg was to borrow a fellow passenger’s cellphone and call his mom. “Moeder ek is hier, ek is veilig (mother, I’m here, I’m safe),” he told her, fighting back tears. The pain and suffering of being incarcerated in the notorious Black Beach Prison in Equatorial Guinea for almost two years still haunts him. “I’ll get too emotional if I speak to my wife, that can wait for later,” Janse van Rensburg told The Star at OR Tambo International Airport yesterday, moments after he touched down. Janse van Rensburg, 49, has been incarcerated in Equatorial Guinea after an aviation contract with former Malabo mayor, Gabriel Mba Bela Angabi, went sour. Angabi cancelled the aviation contract he had with Janse van Rensburg and had the man thrown into jail when he couldn’t pay him his money back immediately. Janse van Rensburg was found not guilty by a court, but was again thrown into prison when Angabi’s men had him hauled off a plane that was headed back to South Africa in December 2013. He was later released and rearrested a third time. By last week, Janse van Rensburg had told the South African embassy to “get me out of here, they’re going to kill me”, according to the family’s spokeswoman Fran Kirsten. When the shell-shocked man walked into the airport’s arrivals he was whisked away by Victor Rambau, the South African ambassador to Equatorial Guinea. A secu- rity guard was also on hand to shield him from media attention. “We want to debrief him,” Rambau told the media. The Star later caught up with Janse van Rensburg at a restaurant at the airport, where he sipped on a large milkshake. “I’ve missed strawberry milkshakes,” he quipped. When asked about his life in prison, Janse van Rensburg struggles to find the right words. “It’s…” he said, shaking his head. “The dirt, the overcrowding, the violence, all the other things you have in jail I could handle. “The worst part is I couldn’t speak to my family, that killed me. I only managed to get two phone calls while I was there.” His eyes welled up with tears as he spoke. Janse van Rensburg suffered from typhoid and four bouts of malaria while he was in jail. “It’s only by the grace of God I survived it. My faith carried me through in jail. I only had the Bible to read there. It forced me to read the Bible and work on my communication with God and it worked, I’m free.” Despite his ordeal, Janse van Rensburg cracked jokes and laughed. But he said he’s not yet ready to share all the details about what exactly happened with the soured business deal. “The problems we had were just to do with this one man (Angabi) and money. It was not the government. He’s got a lot of power and he abuses it. He didn’t want to accept the fact that he lost legally.” To highlight the fact that he doesn’t blame Equatorial Guinea’s government for his ordeal, Janse van Rensburg said: “I would go back, but I don’t know if my wife would let me.” It was the office of the second vice-president that eventually secured his release along with the tireless work of the South African embassy. “The help and support I got from the staff have been incredible. They’ve gone more than the extra mile. This has been so frustrating for them too.” “I can’t believe it yet, it’s surreal still. I can’t believe I actually got out of the country. We were sending messages right until the plane left. I’m physically drained and mentally I’m finished.” What’s the first thing he’s going to do when he gets to George? “Kiss my wife. I haven’t kissed her in two years.” Last night, Janse van Rensburg flew to his hometown, George, to be reunited with his wife Melanie, one of their two children, Abigail, 22, and his parents Hennie and Martha. A large group of friends also welcomed him at George Airport. @Gabi_Falanga Captain De Villiers draws curtain on Bok career MIKE GREENAWAY ONE OF the great Springbok careers ended in the unlikely soccer city of Newcastle in the north of England yesterday when Jean de Villiers confirmed his latest injury, another jaw fracture, had ended his Rugby World Cup and his 13 years in the green and gold. At 4am yesterday, De Villiers, 34, said he had raised a final glass to his career in the best possible circumstances – in his hotel room in the company of his childhood rugby hero Danie Gerber, his sporting hero Ernie Els, and his best friend (and teammate) Schalk Burger. Gerber, the great Springbok centre of the 1980s, was in England to be inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame and Els, a passionate SA team is back on track and that’s good enough for me BEFORE GOING DOWN: Jean de Villiers in action against Samoa. follower of the Boks, has a home in England. “Both have become great friends of mine,” a calm and composed De Villiers said. “Danie is the best centre South Africa ever produced and I am honoured to have played in the jersey he once wore. It is funny how things worked out, with Danie and Ernie, two legends, commiserating with me. And Schalk being at his philosophical best for that time of the morning,” De Villiers added with a smile. De Villiers said he had long ago embraced the fact that fate cannot be controlled and he balanced the adversity he has endured in the past year (a terrible knee injury and latterly defeats to Argentina and Japan) plus two unrelated jaw fractures with the “absolute privilege of playing 109 Tests”. De Villiers, a team man to the core, said he did not want his injury to deviate any focus from “the only thing that matters – the Boks winning the World Cup. “The last time I got seriously injured against Samoa was in a World Cup game in 2007 (torn bicep) and the tournament did not end up too badly for the Boks! As a former Bok now, I am supporter No 1 and I don’t want the guys to feel sorry for me, and this week is about the team replicating the urgency of the weekend to beat Scotland.” De Villiers said the talk in the early hours was about what would be the perfect ending to a Springbok career. The perfect team doesn’t end with its players, so let’s all get onboard. Go Bokke! Bring it home! SAA. Proud airline partner of the Springboks. “It is just amazing to have played for the Springboks, and after such a tough week following the defeat to Japan, being part of a team that got back on track and played with such pride and determination to win well is good enough for me. “I will take that. I never gave up on my dreams of fighting for the Boks and whenever I wore the jersey I like to think I gave it my all. It just did not work out the way I wanted it to.” De Villiers said he was flying back to South Africa today to consult a specialist and there was a good chance of surgery to remove his wisdom teeth and insert plates on either side of his jaw. And then he could return to England to provide moral support and advice. See Page 3 and Sport PICTURE: NOKUTHULA MBATHA