Honeymoon killing suspects charged
Three men appear in South African court charged with the kidnapping and murder of Anni Dewani near Cape Town
Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead on 13 November when the chauffeur-driven car she and her husband, Shrien, were travelling in was hijacked and driven to Khayelitsha township near Cape Town. Mr Dewani, from Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, was released unharmed.
The three men appeared briefly in Wynberg regional court near Cape Town this morning. During the 15-minute hearing in a packed courtroom, they stood side-by-side, facing the judge, and did not speak.
Xolile Mngeni, 26, from Khayelitsha, Zola Tongo, 31, from Bothasig, and Mzwamadoda Qwabe, 26, from Khayelitsha, were charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping. Magistrate Jackie Redeling-Huys adjourned the case until 6 December.
Eric Ntabazalila, a spokesman for the national prosecution agency said after the hearing that the reason for the adjournment was two-fold: "Police are continuing their investigations and we are still talking to the legal representative of Mr Tongo."
Tongo, who drove the car that was hijacked, has entered a plea bargain agreement with the state prosecutor. This allows him to negotiate a reduced sentence, or even acquittal, in return for turning in the other suspects.
Asked whether the plea bargain negotiations were delaying the case, Ntabazalila suggested it was the police, not the prosecution, that had asked for more time. He said: "The police investigation is delaying matters, not the plea bargain."
Police, who have ceased to give any information about the case to the media, did not lift restrictions on the suspects' photographs being published.
These had been thought to have been put in place in the run-up to an identity parade which took place on Saturday. It was not clear why the restrictions remained in force today.
Mrs Dewani and her husband had been married for two weeks when the carjacking occurred. The case has prompted intense speculation because, unusually, Mr Dewani, 31, was released unharmed, as was Tongo, and the vehicle was not stolen.
Mrs Dewani was found dead in the Volkswagen Sharan in Khayelitsha township the following morning.
