Six South African Activists Seized by Israel Return Home After Gaza Flotilla Detention

The six South African activists who were abducted by Israel on a Gaza-bound flotilla have been released and landed in Johannesburg today, Wednesday, October 8, 2025. They received a heroes welcome from other pro-Palestine demonstrators and members of the press.

The arrival of the six in Jordan was confirmed by South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco). "The Department of International Relations and Co-operation confirms the safe arrival of the Flotilla activists in Jordan. Our Ambassador, Her Excellency Tselane Mokuena, was present to receive the delegation on behalf of the Republic," Dirco spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri said.

The flotilla, intercepted on its way to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, was carrying activists from over 80 countries. The six South African volunteers aboard the flotilla included award-winning writer and activist, Zukiswa Wanner, who previously shared with OkayAfrica her diary entries prior to leaving for Gaza, and Nkosi Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela. 

The activists, now safely returned to their home soil in South Africa, shared that they were singled out by Israeli forces when they found out they were South African and received harsher treatment than the others. Two of the women, Fatima Hendricks and Zaheera Soomar, are Muslim and say their hijabs were ripped off their heads, and they were stripped naked. In a press conference held immediately after their arrival, Mandela narrated the experience, saying they were “harshly dealt with” by the Israeli military. However, he reiterated that the story must always be centered on Gaza, the Palestinians, and the genocide they are currently subjected to.

South Africa has been at the forefront of speaking out against the genocide Israel is carrying out on Palestinians, famously filing a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in December 2023. 

Wanner’s husband, Kenyan journalist and blogger James Murua, says he finally feels at ease knowing his wife is safe. “I am much, much better. No more sleepless nights for me,” he tells OkayAfrica. “She is in Joburg, where the whole South African team started their journey. I have spoken to her briefly.”

Now back home, in a statement released to OkayAfrica via Murua, Wanner reflects on the activists’ ordeal and the broader crisis in Gaza: “Me and the five other South Africans who were kidnapped in international waters by the apartheid Israeli government, are lucky to be back with our families. This is much more than what more than 11 thousand Palestinians who have been taken hostage by the apartheid Israeli government, among them children, have been fortunate to experience.”

Wanner emphasizes that their release should not distract from the ongoing suffering in Gaza. She urges the world to keep its focus on the “starvation, genocide, ecocide, and scholasticide of the people of Gaza,” and to continue holding Israel accountable for its actions, “as we shall all need to be witnesses on the day of judgement,” she continues.

“With the flotilla behind us having been intercepted in the last 24 hours, it should become even more clear how cruel the apartheid Israeli government is and should pressure governments across the world to act to stop the starvation and a catastrophe against the people of Palestine that has been going on for 77 years but that came to the attention of many in the last two years,” Wanner says. 

Additional reporting by Lihle Z. Mtshali