Sooliman said the organisation will give McGowan space to bond with his family.
“They need to bond. We will give them space and we will talk with them afterwards‚” he said.
International affairs minister Maite Nkoana Mashabane announced McGowan’s release to the South African public on Thursday morning.
She said the South African government did not pay any ransom for his release.
McGowan was abducted while seated in a restaurant in Timbuktu. He was in a country as a tourist‚ travelling by motorcycle.
In May‚ his family sent a message of hope to mark 2‚000 days since McGowan and Swede Johan Gustafsson were captured by an Al Qaeda linked organisation called AQIM. His father Malcolm told TimesLIVE this what was he wanted to convey to his son: “Hang in there. Be strong. Life is worth living‚ so live day by day.”