Photo from Mohammed Dewji's verified twitter account.
DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The family of Tanzania's young billionaire, Mohammed Dewji, who was abducted last week, on Monday offered one billion Tanzanian shillings (about 438,000 U.S. dollars) for anyone that will give information on their missing son.
Azim Dewji, spokesman of the family, said the reward was aimed at enhancing search for the billionaire who was abducted on Thursday last week.
Dewji, 43, also known as MO, was kidnapped around 5:35 a.m. on Thursday last week when he was about to enter a hotel gym for his routine workout in the leafy Oysterbay area in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
"The family promises that the source of the information and the information itself will remain confidential between the family and the source," Azim Dewji told a news conference in Dar es Salaam.
Azim Dewji said the family thanked the government and its security organs for efforts they were taking to ensure that the young business tycoon was found alive.
He also thanked the media, religious organizations and individuals for their support.
At least 26 people were being questioned by police in connection of connection with the abduction of the east African nation's young billionaire.
Tanzanian Minister for Home Affairs, Kangi Lugola, said on Saturday that there was still no clue or information about the whereabouts of the young billionaire.
He added the motive for Dewji's abduction was yet to be established as the abductors were still at large.
"Once we pin them down we will be in a position to know their motive for the kidnap," said the minister.
Lugola said police have teamed up with other security organs in the hunt for the abductors, adding the police will never rest until the culprits are brought to book."
"The public need not worry because the country is very much safe. These small incidents happening in some parts of the country should not taint the country's security and image," said the minister.
"Tanzania continues to be a peaceful country. These slight insecurity concerns cannot be used to paint a bigger picture of our peaceful vast country," he said.
However, he said, there had been 57 reported cases of abduction of individuals since 2016 where at least 44 were rescued alive.
Lugola said the high rate of abductions was a result of politics and economic hardships where kidnappers claimed ransom, witchcraft beliefs, and sometimes resulted from love affairs gone sour or revenge.
However, he said the motive for Dewji's abduction was yet to be established as the abductors were not known including their motive.
"Once we pin them down we shall be able to know their motive for the kidnap," the minister said.
Soft-spoken Dewji is the chief executive and leading shareholder of the MeTL Group, a family owned Tanzanian conglomerate with operations in manufacturing, agriculture, haulage, trading and real estate.
It is one of the largest industrial conglomerates in east Africa, with annual revenues hitting about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars and a workforce of more than 20,000 people.
Since MeTL Group already contributes some 3.5 percent of Tanzania's gross domestic product, it is fast outgrowing national boundaries, working across 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
