#PODCAST Gift of the Givers detail the events leading to the release of SA hostage - Gerco van Deventer #sabcnews

By Newsbreak Senior Producer Taresh Harreeparshad and Shanell Daniel - Aid Organization Gift of the Givers has provided some detail of events leading up to the release of South African hostage, Gerco van Deventer, who was held captive for more than six years. Gerco has been released into Algeria. Van Deventer was taken from Libya in 2017 and sold to Al Qaeda in Mali a year later - who demanded an initial ransom fee of three-million US dollars. Gift of the Givers Founder, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, says the amount was negotiated down to 500-thousand dollars but funds could not be secured. He says State Security in South Africa has confirmed that their Algerian counterparts have informed them that Gerco was taken to hospital for a medical inspection...