A South African man kidnapped by al Qaeda as he toured Mali on a motorbike has described the moment he was released by his captors.
Stephen McGowan was freed on July 29 after being held hostage for more than five years.
Mr McGowan, who made his first appearance at a press conference in Johannesburg on Thursday with his wife and father by his side, said he did not believe his captors when they said they were going to free him.
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Read more:
Al Qaeda frees kidnapped South African after five years in captivity
Al Qaeda-linked Mali extremists release hostage video
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“They then called me over and said well, you may not know but your fellow prisoner he’s now been released, he’s gone back to Sweden. Hopefully, you’ll be going home soon. I said I’ve heard this story many times,” he said.
“There have been so many ups and downs over the last five and a half years, you’re not sure who you can believe and who you can’t believe.”
Mr McGowan was taken hostage by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (IQIM) in Mali in November 2011, along with Swedish national Johan Gustafsson and Sjaak Rijke, a Dutch citizen.
They were abducted from a restaurant in the central city of Timbuktu along with a German friend, who was immediately killed when he refused to comply with militants’ demands.
Mr McGowan, who had worked for Investec bank in the UK, had embarked on a “final adventure” of biking through Africa before returning to his home country.
He revealed that he had converted from Catholicism to Islam during his captivity, which had helped him during the experience.
The South African said: “I’m a God-fearing person so I do believe. They [IQIM] did not force me to enter into Islam. I see many very good things in Islam, many things that I like.
“I’ve learned everything in Arabic, so I probably have big gaps in my knowledge. I see many good things in Islam but I see also many things that do not make sense to me. So I will continue reading up.”
Upon his release, Mr McGowan was told that his mother had passed away the year before.
IQIM began life as a spin-off from an Islamist movement that fought Algeria's government in the 1990s.
It was pushed into north Mali the following decade, where it pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden's movement and built a network of fighters across the Sahara.
They have been responsible for dozens of kidnappings of Westerners and attacks on security forces across west Africa.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Result:
1. Cecilie Hatteland (NOR) atop Alex - 31.46 seconds
2. Anna Gorbacheva (RUS) atop Curt 13 - 31.82 seconds
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) atop Cash Up - 32.81 seconds
4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) atop Benur du Romet - 37.53 seconds
6. Annika Sande (NOR) atop For Cash 2 - 31.42 seconds (4 penalties)
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What is safeguarding?
“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
HEY%20MERCEDES%2C%20WHAT%20CAN%20YOU%20DO%20FOR%20ME%3F
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE%20SPECS
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Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
The years Ramadan fell in May
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
RESULTS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
