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.”
Tanzanian police said on Friday they had identified the driver of a vehicle used in the kidnapping‚ outside a hotel gym in Dar es Salaam on October 11‚ and were making progress in their investigation.
After Dewji was released in the Gymkhana area of Dar es Salaam at 2.30am local time‚ the city’s regional commissioner‚ Paul Makonda‚ said the suspects were all foreigners.
Tanzania police chief Simon Sirro said an AK-47 rifle and three pistols were found in a car that was used by three kidnappers‚ two of whom spoke English and the other Swahili. The police were in pursuit of the men and hopeful they would be arrested‚ he said.
Dewji’s family offered a reward of $500‚000 (R7.2-million) for information that would help police find the 43-year-old‚ who is Africa’s youngest billionaire.
Sirro told the news conference that Dewji had already provided some information about the kidnapping. “He 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‚” he said.