Police in Tanzania have reportedly said that Africa’s youngest billionaire, Mohammed Dewji, 40, who was kidnapped in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, had no security detail with him when he was abducted.
Dewji was kidnapped on Thursday morning by gunmen in Tanzania’s economic capital, AFP reported.
Dewji is the head of MeTL Group which operated in at least 10 countries with interests in agriculture to insurance, transport, logistics and the food industry.
He was snatched as he entered the gym of a hotel in the city.
According to BBC, police said that Dewji “had no security detail with him and drove to the gym on his own”.
One of Dewji’s employees, Caroline Lewis, said that Dewji had huge celebrity status in the country.
“You would be hard pressed to find a person in Dar es Salaam who did not know of Mohammed or the Dewji family and he would often draw large crowds at public events.
“But despite his wealth and celebrity he is always incredibly relaxed in his approach to security, like the rest of the Dewji family,” BBC quoted Lewis as saying.
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 in 2015 named Forbes Africa Person of the Year.
Dewji is also the main shareholder in Tanzania’s Simba FC football club.
Mohammed Dewji (43) is Africa's youngest billionaire. He has a net worth of $1.5 billion.
– He owns MeTL Group
– He is from Tanzania pic.twitter.com/N9CDhpsAS4— Thakhani Ramufhufhi (@Thakhani_R) June 14, 2018
Even though he is one of Tanzania’s most recognizable figures, Dewji, is known to move around with little to no security, as many successful businessmen are known to do in the country.
Despite earlier reports that stated that the billionaire had been found, police commissioner Lazaro Mambosaso told the CNN that was not the case.
The police will continue their search and have arrested three men in connection to the kidnapping.
The reason for the abduction remains unclear, though according to CNN, it is thought to likely be a “ransom” kidnapping.
Dweji’s kinapping has come as a shock to many in the country.
News24/Okay Africa
