Tanzania’s billionaire and philanthropist Mustafa Jaffer Sabodo has passed away at his home located in Masaki, Dar es Salaam, as disclosed by a close family member.

The business tycoon passed away early Saturday, and he will be buried later today in Dar es Salaam.

Sabodo was born on May 14, 1942, in Lindi region.

An economist and consultant in international debt finance had business interests in Tanzania, India, France, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.

He is the founder of the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation National Lottery.

How late billionaire rescued Tanzania during the 1970s fuel crisis

In the 1970s, Tanzania and other countries in the world faced a shortage of fuel

That situation forced Sabodo, who was a close friend of then-President Julius Nyerere, to ask permission from the president to personally travel to meet with the then Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, to appeal for fuel to rescue the country from the crisis.