Al Qaeda's Longest-Held Captive

South African Stephen Mcgown holds the undesirable record for being Al Qaeda’s longest-held prisoner. His astonishing story of mental strength, grit and physical resilience sheds light on the endurance of the human spirit.

- DEE KHANDUJA

I recently heard Stephen speak to a Singapore audience about his six years held in captivity, while getting an insight into one of the world’s most feared terrorist organisations.

Despite living through a nightmare, his gritty story inspires us to “reframe” our attitude, as he proves that we can endure more than we think.

A long journey home

Stephen’s nightmare began in 2011 when he and his wife were relocating from London to Johannesburg. He had planned to motorbike his way back to South Africa from the UK while his wife took a flight. Little did he know that he wouldn’t see her or his family for the next six years.

One fateful day in Timbuktu, Mali, Stephen was in a restaurant when he and a few other hostages were taken captive by Al Qaeda. They were driven for 15 hours into the desert, where they set up camp away from civilisation and aerial surveillance.

Describing the journey as “the greatest chess game of my life”, for the next six years, he was never far from death.

Negotiations and videos

His captors embarked on long, protracted negotiations for Stephen’s release. They varied their ransom demands, initially asking for over 11 million dollars. Though no ransom was apparently paid, Al Qaeda played a waiting game, holding out for negotiations or a prisoner or cash exchange. Their objective was to ensure their prisoners didn’t escape and were not found. They would also go to great lengths to hide their positions from Western surveillance, including burying oil drums, water and cars.