Wife of SA man held captive in Burkina Faso hopes for news after release of fellow hostage

Christo Bothma and his wife, Amanda Bothma. Image: Bring Christo Bothma Back Home/Facebook

The family of mineworker Christo Bothma, who was abducted in Burkino Faso in 2018, are hopeful they will receive information about him after the release of a man who was taken hostage with him.

On a Facebook page titled “Bring Christo Bothma back home", his wife, Amanda, posted: “Patel's son was released on Saturday. We are waiting to hear from the son what happened to Chris."

She was reacting to a Reuters report that Kimar Akoliya, the son of Akoliya Patel, an Indian gold mine owner in Burkina Faso, had been released. He was kidnapped by unidentified assailants with two colleagues in September 2018, one South African and one from Burkino Faso.

Amanda has previously shared her anxiety about her husband's circumstances. In November 2018 she heard he had been released, which turned out to be untrue. In September last year she received news that he had died, but refused to believe it. 

On the one-year anniversary of his abduction, Amanda told TimesLIVE: “It may not be today, tomorrow, next month, but one day he will return home. Only then will I believe that he’s dead or alive. Until I see his body, he is not dead."

When asked how she’d been coping, she said: “Days are not the same. On some days I sleep, on some I don’t. It's just not easy."

The couple have six children, aged between 20 and 30.

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