South Africa honeymoon murder: driver accuses husband

Appearing in court in Cape Town, the driver – Zola Tongo – pleaded guilty to murder but, as part of a plea bargain, claimed that Shrien Dewani offered him 15,000 rand (£1,380) to kill his wife.

Reading out the plea bargain statement, the state prosecutor, Rodney de Kock, told the Western Cape High Court that “the deceased was murdered at the insistence of her husband”. Tongo is one of three men charged with the murder of Anni Dewani on 13 November.

He claimed: “The alleged hijacking was in fact not a hijacking, but part of a plan of subterfuge which the husband of the deceased and I designed to conceal the true facts,”

Mr Dewani, a 30-year-old British businessman had been married to his Swedish wife for just a fortnight before her tragic death. He told police that they were car-jacked en route to their five-star hotel in Cape Town after they agreed to take a route through the township of Gugulethu.

“Shrien is totally innocent…All we have heard from the police is that he is not a suspect.” Publicist Max Clifford

He says the taxi was stopped by two men who robbed them and kicked him out of the car. His wife’s body was found in the abandoned car later with bullet wounds in her neck and chest.

Mr Dewani has denied any involvement in her death. His spokesman Max Clifford said: “This is a man who is on a murder charge and doing everything he can to limit the sentence, so we all understand what’s going on.

“Shrien is totally innocent and we were led to believe by our representatives over there that this is what is likely to happen and to expect it but there is no substance to it. All we have heard from the police is that he is not a suspect.”

Anni Dewani’s father, Vinod Hindocha, has expressed his frustration with the South African police investigation and said he doesn’t know who to believe.
He has travelled to South Africa to be present for the taxi driver’s trial and was said to look close to tears as he was led to a seat in the front of the courtroom this morning.

Tongo was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment. Two other men – Xolile Mnguni and Mziwanadoda Qwabe – have also been charged with murder of the 28-year-old Mrs Dewani and robbery with aggravating circumstances. They will remain in custody before facing a separate trial in February.

The South African authorities are considering whether to seek an extradition warrant for Mr Dewani.