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DAR ES SALAAM / NAIROBI (Reuters) – The youngest billionaire in Africa, kidnapped a week ago in front of a luxury hotel in Tanzania, has returned home after being released by his captors, police said on Saturday. .
Mohammed Dewji, CEO of the 43-year-old METL family conglomerate, was arrested as he arrived for a morning training session in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial capital, last week. . Forbes estimates his net worth at $ 1.5 billion, making him the 17th richest man in Africa and the youngest billionaire in Africa.
Lazaro Mambosasa, the Dar es Salaam police commander, told Reuters that Dewji was abandoned by his captors in the Gymkhana neighborhood at 2:30 am local time.
Dewji was detained in a house in an area where police were about to search house-to-house, he said.
"He had his legs, hands and face tied, so he could not see. He could not identify the kidnappers throughout the period of captivity, "Mambosasa said. He had only bruises on the hands and feet where they were tied.
"He told us that they treated him very well and gave him food," he said.
Dewji's family had offered a reward of one billion Tanzanian shillings ($ 440,000) for the information leading to his release, although it is not known immediately what the kidnappers had requested.
At a press conference, the Inspector General of Police, Simon Sirro, said Dewji had told them that the suspects were speaking in English and that they had "broken Swahili" and that A vehicle on which they had traveled carried foreign plates.
"The good thing is that we communicate regularly with our colleagues from Interpol," he told reporters.
Four weapons, including an assault rifle and many bullets, were found in the vehicle, partially damaged as part of an attempted destruction of evidence, Sirro said.
Dewji, quoted by the METL group, said on his Twitter account that he was "safe at home", without giving more details about how he was released or escaped from his captors.
The company also cited him thanking those who had worked for his release, including the police.
His kidnapping had caused consternation in the East African nation, as he was one of his most prominent leaders and had been a member of Parliament in the past.
The METL Group is involved in a wide range of manufacturing, agriculture, transport, infrastructure, food processing and telecommunication activities in 11 African countries.
Written by Duncan Miriri; Edited by Aaron Maasho. Edited by Richard Balmforth
