Black Beach: 491 Days in One of Africa’s Most Brutal Prisons

by Daniel Janse Van Rensburg, Tracey Pharoah

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 finalise a legitimate airline contract with a local politician. Within days, Daniel was arrested by the local Rapid Intervention Force and detained without trial in the island’s infamous ‘Guantanamo’ cells,  and was later taken to Black Beach. This is his remarkable story of survival over nearly two years, made possible by his unwavering faith and the humanity of a few fellow inmates.

In this thrilling first-person narrative, Daniel relives his ordeal, describing the harrowing conditions in the prison, his extraordinary experiences there, 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, Black Beach demonstrates the strength of the human spirit and the toll injustice takes on ordinary people who fall foul of the powerful and corrupt.

Genres: Africa

399 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2022

Reviews

[Don Packett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spectacular, horrific, inspirational, eye-opening account of what - with enough power - can be done to another human being. Filled with emotional highs and lows, I found myself shaking my head too many times at the absolute absurdity of what is possible when rules don’t matter. The fact that Danie also happens to be my new neighbour is both exciting and scary 😂 .

[Adele Mansell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent read. A real page turner.

A beautifully written account of Daniel’s experiences during his awful and unlawful incarceration.

Tracey’s writing fully captures the intensity, the cruelty and the desperation experienced by Daniel and those he met at Black Beach. She also captures the warmth, the humanity, compassion and empathy of those who worked so hard in their attempts to help Daniel.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, a very good book and definitely worth a read. But if you are not a person of faith, be warned. The author's continuous praise of God - the same God that by his own belief is ultimately responsible for putting him in Africa's worst prison, gets old in my opinion. He cites examples of how "clearly" God was responsible for saving his life over others, like his is somehow more important than theirs. Maybe I should be envious of someone who can maintain such strong faith in the face of such evil, but his continous reliance on his view that "God is in control" got old quick when on the same page he's recounting horrific stories of torture, rape, and death. I could respect his faith until he accused the lost boys who grew up on the streets as having no moral compass because they were non-Christian. As a non-Christian, I found this highly offensive.

SPOILER ALERT:
While out on a mistaken "administrative leave" from the prison, he was given three chances to escape the country, but instead trusted the system to exonerate him so he could leave the country "with dignity". He put his trust in the very same system that was responsible for landing him in Black Beach to begin with. And while he certainly did not deserve what awaited him when not surprisingly the system once again failed him and he ended up back in Black Beach, admittedly my sympathy waned a bit. It's clear proof of what happens when you prioritize your faith over reality.

Again - a good book and a tragic story of something that never should have happened. But be cautious if you aren't a fan of what I consider religion trumping common sense.