Africa's newest billionaire relates several days' experience in the hands of kidnappers

According to foreign media, its kidnapping, 12 months ago outside a hotel gym in the country's main city, Dar Es Salaam, provoked a major search.

Speaking for the first time in the media about his disaster, Dewji told the BBC that he had closed his eyes and was disoriented when he made this request.

He was released after 10 days and even says it happened without paying any ransom.

I was blindfolded and there were times that they kept threatening me with guns in my head and five days, six days inside of it I was thinking that if I lost my view”, Dewji confessed to the BBC.

The kidnapper acted as if he meant I would shoot you and I was like you could shoot me and kill me because I was losing him. You're diagnosed, you're tired, because it's a form of torture”

However, ten days after his kidnapping in October 2018, his company, MeTL, issued a post from Dewji saying he was “returned home safely”.

Since then, he has thanked people for their prayers for his safety.

Besides these, Dewji told the BBC that his kidnappers had abandoned him in a 15-minute field by car away from where he was kidnapped at the Coliseum Hotel.

Authorities have not established a clear motive for the kidnapping, and Dewey is also in the dark for that.

“Ende doesn't know why it happened”, he said. Of course, the purpose seemed to be money. In the end, they left me without money.”

He believes the kidnappers gave up due to pressure raised by the media and political attention.

Dewj was taken by two men outside the Colosseum Hotel in Dar es Salaam while going to the gym for his morning training.

Meanwhile, Telegrafi, a tanzanian taxi driver, Moussa Tuleb, has been arrested and pending trial. But he's the only suspect being held.

Dewey believes there were about three or four foreigners from Mozambique and South Africa involved who he believes have fled the country.

The billionaire says he has made some changes in his life; replacing lights in his house with bright lamps and stopping running alone.

He said the kidnapping has caused him to reflect.

Dewji is known for turning his family business from a large and retail company into a pan-African conglomerate.

Me TL has interest in producing textiles, grinding flour, drinking and food oils in at least six African countries.

Forbes magazine praised its net wealth of about $1.5 billion, which would make it Africa's newest billionaire.

He has announced that he intends to invest almost $400m in agriculture in Tanzania in the next 24 months, not for profit, but to make a “impact”.