Family of South African hostage held in Mali launches fresh appeal

The family of a South African held hostage by jihadists in Mali for over five years launched a fresh appeal for his release on Saturday.

Forty-seven year old, Gerco van Deventer , was kidnapped in Libya on November 3, 2017 .

Van Deventer , an emergency paramedic who was working for a security company, is the only South African citizen held hostage by a non-state actor in the Sahel , according to his wife,  Shereen van Deventer .

The appeal takes place days after the release of French freelance journalist Olivier Dubois , 48, and 61-year-old American aid worker Jeffery Woodke -- respectively kidnapped in 2021 and 2016 .