A 30-year-old South African is returning home after being held captive in Mozambique.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) confirmed that the man went missing in the first week of September while working as a mechanic at a camp in the Marrupa district of Niassa Province, in northern Mozambique. The man is from Phalaborwa in Limpopo.

DIRCO said engagements took place between the South African High Commission in Maputo and various stakeholders in the East African country to arrange consular assistance and facilitate the man’s release.

The department’s Nelson Kgwete says the man was released unharmed on Sunday and left Mozambique on Wednesday to return to South Africa. 

“The South African government extends its gratitude to the Government of Mozambique for its efforts towards the safe release of the South African national,” he said.

At this stage, DIRCO has not confirmed the reason he was taken captive, whether there were any arrests or if an investigation into the matter is taking place.

However, Kgwete spoke to the SABC on this incident in September, noting that a group of militants stormed a camp where the man and other South Africans, Mozambicans and nationals from neighbouring countries were working. While some managed to escape, the Limpopo native was unaccounted for at that time.