Kidnapped Tanzanian billionaire Dewji freed
Tanzanian tycoon Mohammed Dewji, who was kidnapped this month, yesterday appeared in public after being released and returned home safely.
“I thank Allah that I have returned home safe and sound,” Mr Dewji said in Dar es Salaam, where he was abducted on October 11 as he entered a hotel gymnasium.
Appearing strained and exhausted, he thanked the “Tanzanian authorities, including the police, who worked for my return”.
“I thank all my fellow Tanzanians and everyone around the world for their prayers.”
Tanzanian police said on Friday that they had identified the driver of a vehicle used in the kidnapping and were making progress in their investigation.
The family had offered a reward of $500,000 (Dh1.83 million) for information that would help police to find him.
Mr Dewji’s uncle, Azim Dewji, earlier said that “his abductors abandoned him and he was able to phone his father”, adding that his nephew was in good health.
Tanzania national police chief Simon Sirro said that Mr Dewji had already provided some information about the kidnapping.
“Mohammed Dewji told us that the kidnappers wanted money but were very afraid, even though they were armed,” Mr Sirro said. “He asked them several times how much they wanted but they gave no figure.”
He also gave his captors contacts for his parents but they feared that they would be caught if they approached
them, the police chief said. They finally decided to give up.
“We now know their network, we know which country the plans were made,” Mr Sirro said.
Dar es Salaam police chief Lazaro Mambosasa said Mr Dewji indicated that his abductors spoke a southern Africa language, confirming that the kidnappers were foreigners.
Africa’s youngest billionaire, Mr Dewji, 43, heads the MeTL Group which operates in about 10 countries with interests in agriculture, insurance, transport, logistics and the food industry.
He was born in Tanzania and studied at Georgetown University in the US. He also served as a member of parliament from 2005 to 2015.
In 2013, he became the first Tanzanian on cover of Forbes magazine and was named
Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2015.
Mr Dewji is also the main shareholder in Tanzania’s Simba FC football club.
Forbes says he is 17th on the list of Africa’s billionaires, and worth $1.5 billion.
He is married with three children. In 2016 he signed a pledge to donate at least half of his fortune to philanthropic causes, Forbes says.
Police say the tycoon’s kidnappers spoke a southern African tongue and that the net was closing in on them