One billion Tanzanian shilling reward for abducted billionaire

Mohammed Dewji, 43, was kidnapped by two gunmen as he left the gym of Colosseum Hotel in Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania last Thursday.Police said the abductors, who are believed to be foreign nationals, drove into the hotel and opened fire before bundling Dewji into a car and speeding off.The kidnappers accessed the gym through the hotel gates that police believe to have been left open deliberately."The family would also like to assure any person(s) giving information that all of this will remain strictly confidential and shall stay solely between person(s) and the family," according to family spokesman Azim Dewji.Police told CNN Monday they have yet to receive a ransom demand for the young billionaire.Around 20 men have been arrested in connection with the incident, they said.The motive for the kidnapping is still unknown.Dewji is Africa's youngest billionaire and runs the METL group, a family business founded by his father in the 1970s, that operates across six African countries.The pan-African conglomerate has massive holdings in textile and food and beverage manufacturing businesses across Africa.Dewji popularly called Mo, launched a beverage brand called Mo Cola to compete with Coca Cola in 2014.According to Forbes Magazine has a net worth of $1.5 billion making him Africa's youngest billionaire.In 2016, Dewji signed The Giving Pledge in 2016 and promised to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes.He served two terms in the Tanzania parliament before he resigned in 2015 to dedicate more time to the family business.

Eleni Giokos contributed to this report.

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