Two South Africans held up in Equatorial Guinea have had their passports confiscated again and will not be returning home as expected.
Ruwayda Kaldine, 18, and Sechan Pillay, 24, were about to board a plane to South Africa on Tuesday when their travel documents were seized by airport officials without explanation.
It is now 25 days since the two cabin crew members, who are contracted to South African aviation company Global Aviation Leasing (GAL), were prevented from leaving the West African country, effectively being placed under house arrest.
'This is getting too much for us'
The two are caught up in a financial dispute involving GAL, Venatto Trading and a local airliner, Guinea Equatorial de Transportes Aereos (Getra).
The families were shattered by the news. "I am so disappointed and upset... This is getting too much for us," said a distraught Hamidi Kaldine, Ruwayda's mother.
Said Nisha Pillay, Sechan's sister: "This has taken its toll on all of us... My sister is not functioning properly and my father, who had a stroke three weeks ago keeps asking about Sechan."
Foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa confirmed on Tuesday the seizure of the passports.
"Our diplomatic mission in Malabo (in Equatorial Guinea where the two are held) had issued new passports to the cabin crew. This was done openly with relevant authorities in Equatorial Guinea properly informed about this," said Mamoepa.
'We are looking at other diplomatic avenues'
"Upon arrival at the airport today (Tuesday) their passports were confiscated.
"However, we are looking at other diplomatic avenues to ensure the two South Africans return home."
Mamoepa seemed surprised at the turn of events as the department held an urgent meeting with the Equatorial Guinea ambassador last week.
"In that extraordinary meeting we gave the ambassador a diplomatic note expressing the urgent need to get the two cabin crew back home safely," he said.
GAL chief executive Daniel Rosenzweig confirmed reports that on November 20 Getra had asked the airport commissioner to confiscate the crew members' passports and was using them as "negotiating chips" to get the R1,8-million owed to Getra by Venatto.
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