South African Gerco Van Deventer held hostage by AL Qaeda for the past six years has been released.
Gift of the Givers announced the unconditional release of van Deventer on Sunday.
He was taken hostage in Libya on Friday, 3 November 2017, and sold to Al-Qaeda in Mali in 2018.
Van Deventer was the longest-held South African hostage in captivity.
The initial request for Gerco was $3 million and over some time Gift of the Givers negotiated the amount down to $500k.
Still, 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 says they do not pay the ransom but act as facilitators on behalf of distraught families wanting to bring home their loved ones.
Having no further leverage, negotiations stalled and with Covid-19 it stopped.
Gift of the Givers says in January this year, they tried again during Ramadan, asking for a complete and unconditional release.
They kept on trying and eventually got word on Saturday that van Deventer was now in Algeria.
He is currently in hospital for a health check-up.
The next step is to reunite Gerco with his wife Shereen and son Asher to bring an end to an agonizing six years.
