The Daily Telegraph

Africa’s ‘youngest billionair­e’ kidnapped at hotel gym

- By Adrian Blomfield in Nairobi

A TYCOON said to be Tanzania’s wealthiest resident has been kidnapped from a spa hotel by masked gunmen.

Mohammed Dewji was abducted yesterday morning shortly after arriving at his gym at the Colosseum Hotel Oyster Bay in the city of Dar es Salaam.

Police said that three foreigners had been detained in connection with the kidnapping of Mr Dewji, known to fellow countrymen as “Mo”.

However, conflictin­g reports have surfaced surroundin­g the disappeara­nce of the 43-year-old – and a motive for his abduction remains unclear.

Paul Makonda, the regional governor and a close ally of President John Magufuli, told reporters that Mr Dewji was kidnapped “by whites travelling in two vehicles”.

Witnesses outside the hotel, however, only spoke of one vehicle and none mentioned the ethnicity of the assailants.

“We were approachin­g the area when, suddenly, in front of us, four people wearing masks alighted from a small vehicle and shot once in the air,” an Uber driver said.

“They entered the hotel and came out with a person whom I identified as Mo,” he added.

Adding to the confusion, the city’s police chief, Lazaro Mambosasa, was widely reported as saying that Mr Dewji had been rescued, only to retract the claim, saying he was misquoted.

However, he later said police had 12 suspects in custody, including the hotel’s security manager.

Forbes, the financial magazine, estimates Mr Deji’s wealth at $1.5 billion (£980million), and in a 2017 report, it said he was Africa’s youngest billionair­e.

Dar es Salaam is seen as a relatively safe city. However, crime involving well-known figures is on the rise.wayne Lotter, an elephant conservati­onist investigat­ing ivory-traffickin­g networks, was murdered in the city last year.

In September last year, Tundu Lissu, the opposition chief whip and critic of President Magufuli, was sprayed with bullets outside his home in the capital Dodoma, but survived the attack.

Unlike Mr Lissu, Mr Dewji, who served as a ruling party MP until 2015, has been careful to demonstrat­e his loyalty to Tanzania’s increasing­ly authoritar­ian leader.

‘Suddenly four people wearing masks alighted from a small vehicle and shot once in the air’

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