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Nairobi (AFP) – Tanzanian tycoon Mohammed Dewji, who was abducted earlier this month, said Saturday that he had been released and returned home safely.
"I thank Allah for coming home safe and sound," said Dewji at a press conference in Dar es Salaam, where he was kidnapped on October 11 while he was entering in the gym of a hotel.
Visibly exhausted and apparently exhausted, he thanked "the Tanzanian authorities, including the police, who worked for my return".
"I thank all my Tanzanian compatriots and everyone for their prayers," he added.
Tanzanian police said Friday they identified the driver of a vehicle used during the abduction and progressed in his investigation.
The family had offered a reward of half a million dollars (435,000 euros) for information that could help the police to find it.
Earlier, Mohammed Dewji had tweeted that he had been released and his father, Gullam Dewji, had confirmed his son's release in comments to the Tanzanian daily Mwanachi.
His uncle, Azim Dewji, said in a video in Mwanachi that "his abductors had abandoned him and that he was able to phone his father," adding that his nephew was in good health.
The video also showed a tired Mohammed Dewji, dressed in a t-shirt and jogging pants, thanking the police.
– The kidnappers spoke 'African language & # 39; –
The head of the Tanzanian National Police, Simon Sirro, told the press conference that Dewji had already provided information about the kidnapping.
"Mohammed Dewji told us that the kidnappers wanted money but were very scared, even if they were armed.He repeatedly asked them how much they wanted but they did not give any money. figure, "said Sirro.
He also gave his captors contacts for his parents, but they feared getting caught as they got closer to them, Sirro said, adding that they had finally decided to go to court. to abandon.
"We now know their network, we know which country plans were made," he said, without giving details.
Dar es Salaam police chief Lazaro Mambosasa told reporters that Mohammed Dewji had told him that his captors were speaking a language in southern Africa, confirming suspicions that the kidnappers were foreigners.
They had finally released him at the same resort where he had been abducted. From there, he went to his home, where the police interrogated him.
The youngest billionaire in Africa, 43-year-old Mohammed Dewji heads up the MeTL group, present in a dozen countries with interests in agriculture, insurance, transport, logistics and telecommunications. Food industry.
He was born in Tanzania and studied at Georgetown University in the United States. He was also a member of Parliament from 2005 to 2015.
In 2013, he became the first Tanzanian to cover Forbes magazine and was named Forbes Africa Personality of the Year in 2015.
Mohammed Dewji is also the main shareholder of Tanzanian football club Simba FC.
According to Forbes, it ranks 17th among African billionaires and represents 1.5 billion dollars (1.29 billion euros).
He is married and has three children. In 2016, he signed a pledge to donate at least half of his fortune to philanthropic causes, according to Forbes.
