At first glance the kidnapping ordeal of Africa’s youngest billionaire appeared to follow a standard criminal script: a snatch by armed men, an appeal for information, a large reward offered before a sudden release nine days later.
Yet celebrations in Tanzania over Mohammed Dewji’s safe return have soured quickly amid growing suspicions that the country’s regime had a hand in his abduction. Certainly, the alleged involvement of military-trained muzungus, Swahili for white men, in the plot, which took place in Tanzania’s most fortified suburb, hints that some state complicity was needed.
Although Mr Dewji, 43, who is estimated to be worth £1.2 billion, served two terms as a ruling party MP until 2015, he has shown little inclination to make the slow climb up