Tanzanian tycoon Mohammed Dewji, who was kidnapped earlier this month, said Saturday he had been released and had returned home safely.
I thank Allah that I have returned home safe and sound,” Dewji told a press conference in Dar es Salaam where he was abducted on October 11 as he entered a hotel gym.
Clearly strained and appearing 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,” he added.
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 dollars (435,000 euros) for information that would help police find him.
Mohammed Dewji earlier tweeted that he had been released and his father Gullam Dewji confirmed his son’s release in comments to the Tanzanian daily Mwanachi.
Dewji 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.
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 (1.29 billion euros).
Dewji 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.
