Black Beach, located on Bioko island off the mainland of Equatorial
Guinea, is one of the world's most feared prisons, notorious for its
brutality and inhumane conditions. In 2013, South African businessman
Daniel Janse van Rensburg set off to the West African country to
finalize a legitimate airline contract with a local politician. Within
days, Daniel was arrested by the local Rapid Intervention Force, had his
passport confiscated, and was held prisoner without trial in the
island's infamous 'Guantanamo' cells, where he witnessed torture for the
first time. He was released by the courts but promptly re-arrested, and
this time taken to Black Beach.
What follows is his remarkable story of survival over more than a year,
made possible by his unwavering faith and the humanity of a few fellow
inmates. In a thrilling first-person narrative, Daniel relives his
ordeal, detailing his arrest, his flight to the South African embassy
while dodging armed men, his near escape and subsequent re-arrest at the
airport, his harrowing incarceration at Black Beach and the horrific
conditions in the prison, and his ceaseless hope to return to South
Africa and be reunited with his family. A story of courage in the face
of overwhelming adversity, this book demonstrates both the strength of
the human spirit and the toll injustice takes on ordinary people who
fall foul of the powerful and corrupt.
