• Fugitive serving 20-year murder sentence caught in Sandton after prison escape.

• Police believe he smuggled stolen 4x4s from Gauteng to Mozambique.

A convicted killer who escaped from a prison in Mozambique has been arrested in Sandton.

Police say Nelson Simiao Massango fled from the Maputo Maximum Prison during violent riots in December 2024, along with more than a thousand other inmates.

Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, national police spokesperson, said Massango had been convicted of murder in 2015 and was serving a sentence of at least 20 years when he escaped.

He was arrested at a car hire dealership in Sandton after investigators tracked him down.

“Police are also investigating several cases of vehicle theft that he may be linked to in Gauteng,” said Mathe. “He allegedly rented 4×4 bakkies, smuggled them into Mozambique, and sold them there.”

Mathe said the SAPS Border Policing High-Density Team has been working around the clock to find escaped prisoners who may have entered South Africa illegally.

INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Pretoria is now working with its Maputo counterparts to share updates and confirm further details.

National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola praised the team for their work.

“This should send a clear message that South Africa is not a safe haven for criminals,” said Masemola.

Massango will now face charges in South Africa while international police authorities work out the next steps.

Pictured above: Convicted Mozambican murderer Nelson Simiao Massango,

who escaped from Maputo Maximum Prison in Mozambique last December.

Image source: National SAPS