Local News
Korkies to use donations to start over─── 11:45 Sat, 20 Dec 2014
Bloemfontein - The R1.7 million that was raised to help kidnap victim Pierre Korkie and his family after his expected release in Yemen, will now assist his widow and children start afresh.
This is according to family spokesperson, Daan Nortier. Korkie and American photographer Luke Somers were killed during an attempt by US special forces to free them from their Al-Qaeda captors in Yemen on December 6.
At the time, Gift of the Givers had already negotiated his imminent release. Korkie and Yolande were kidnapped by Al-Qaeda militants in Taiz, Yemen, last May.
Yolande was released on January 10 and returned to South Africa on January 13. Previously, the kidnappers had demanded a US3 million (about R32.5m) ransom in exchange for Korkie's safe return.
However, Nortjie says that, according to the final agreement that Gift of the Givers had reached with his captors, the money raised in South Africa had not been needed to secure his freedom.
Instead the donations have always been allocated to assist with Pierre Korkie's return and the family's resettlement in South Africa --since the family had previously been based in Yemen.
Sapa
