Africa's youngest billionaire Mohammed Dewji, who was abducted earlier this month from a luxury hotel in Tanzania's commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, returned home unharmed on Saturday after nine days in captivity.
"I thank Allah that I have returned home safe and sound," the 43-year-old Tanzanian tycoon, popularly known as Mo Dewji, told a press conference in Dar es Salaam.
A visibly strained and exhausted Dewji, who attended the news conference in a white T-shirt and pants, thanked the "Tanzanian authorities, including the police, who worked for my return," as he shook their hands.
A screenshot of the tweet from the official account of Mo Dewji Foundation
Unknown gunmen abducted Dewji on October 11 as he left his early morning workout from a hotel gym, police said.
He was found about 3:15 am local time on Saturday near a tennis court in the same city, regional police commissioner Lazaro Mambosasa told reporters.
Tanzanian police said Friday 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 half a million US dollars for information that would help police find him. It is unclear whether a ransom was paid for Dewji's release.
Shortly after the tycoon was found, his organization, the Mo Dewji Foundation, announced his release in a tweet attributed to the billionaire himself. His father Gullam Dewji later confirmed his son's release in comments to the Tanzanian daily Mwanachi.
His uncle, Azim Dewji told Mwanachi in a video that "his abductors abandoned him and he was able to phone his father," adding that his nephew was in good health.
Nervous abductors spoke 'southern African language'
Tanzanian businessman Mohammed Dewji at his office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, April 23, 2015 /VCG Photo)
Tanzania national police chief Simon Sirro told the press conference that 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. He asked them several times how much they wanted but they gave no figure," Sirro said.
He also gave his captors contacts for his parents but they feared that they would be caught if they approached them, Sirro said, adding that they had finally decided to give up.
"We now know their network, we know which country the plans were made," he said, without giving details.
Dar es Salaam police chief Lazaro Mambosasa meanwhile told journalists that Mohammed Dewji had indicated to him that his abductors spoke a southern African language, confirming suspicions that the kidnappers were foreigners.
They had eventually released him at the same hotel complex where he had been abducted. From there, he had made his way to his home, where police interviewed him.
Dewji heads the MeTL Group which operates in about 10 countries with interests in agriculture to insurance, transport, logistics and the food industry.
He was born in Tanzania and studied at Georgetown University in the United States. He also served as a member of parliament from 2005 to 2015.
In 2013, he became the first Tanzanian to grace the cover of Forbes magazine and was named Forbes Africa Person of the Year in 2015.
Mohammed Dewji is also the main shareholder in Tanzania's Simba FC football club.
According to Forbes, he is 17th on the list of Africa's billionaires, and worth 1.5 billion US dollars.
He is married with three children. In 2016, he signed a pledge to donate at least half of his fortune to philanthropic causes, according to Forbes.
(With input from agencies)
(Cover: A file photo of Tanzanian businessman Mohammed Dewji /Photo via Mo Dewji Foundation)