Husband 'paid £1,400 to taxi driver to have wife killed on South Africa honeymoon' claims state prosecutor

By Dan Newling
Last updated at 11:37 AM on 7th December 2010

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The British husband of the bride hijacked and killed on their South African honeymoon has been accused of paying for the attack.

The dramatic claim was made by the state's prosecutor this morning in court.

The South African prosecuting authority accused British businessman Shrien Dewani of paying two hitmen 15,000 rand (£1,400) to murder his wife.

He has always denied any involvement in her death.

Plea bargain: The Dewanis' taxi driver, Zola Tongo, has accused the husband of paying for his wife's murder

Cape Town’s senior prosecutor Rodney de Kock claimed that Mr Dewani, 30, paid his taxi driver to arrange for gunmen to hijack the couple’s taxi as they drove through one of the city.

'The deceased was murdered at the insistence of her husband,' De Kock said.

According to the prosecution, Mr Dewani pre-arranged with the driver, Zola Tongo, that the two of them should be ejected from the taxi unharmed.

Mr Dewani’s wife of two weeks, Anni, however was always intended to be shot in the ‘simulated hijacking’ of November 13th this year.

The dramatic accusations came after a two week whispering campaign in which South African police have leaked to the media their suspicions of Mr Dewani.

They were made during the plea and sentencing appearance of Zola Tongo, who was sentenced to only 18 years for his role in the plot after he told police about Mr Dewani’s alleged involvement.

Grim: Police prepare to tow away the taxi in which Mrs Dewani's body was found

Outlining the case against Tongo in Cape Town’s High Court, Mr de Kock explained how, the day before the incident, Mr Dewani had met the driver at Cape Town’s airport and asked him to take the couple to the Cape Grace hotel in the city centre.

Mr de Kock said: 'After their arrival at the Cape grce, Shrien Dewani approached the accused with a request to procure a hitman to have a woman killed for a fee of 15,000 Rand (£1,400).

'On a subsequent occasion the accused and Shrien Dewani discussed how this had to be done.'

Mr de Kock went on to explain how Tongo arranged with the two other arrested men – Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni to plan how the killing would be executed.'
Meanwhile Mr Dewani's friends claim he has been set up.

The husband of murdered bride Anni Dewani fears he is being ‘set up’ by South African police, his friends revealed yesterday.

Sources close to Shrien Dewani claimed detectives were under political pressure to pin the horrific killing on someone other than a South African.

The millionaire businessman was said to be in an ‘absolutely dreadful state’ as he waits to return to Cape Town to identify the armed robbers who shot dead his wife on their honeymoon.

One friend said: ‘We are just increasingly conscious that there are some people who are definitely trying to set him up. It suits them because an English guy who has done this would be much less damaging to South Africa than if one of their own had done it.

Setback: Businessman Shrien Dewani's lawyer has announced that he is resigning as his representative. Mr Dewani's wife Anni was shot dead in South Africa on November 14

The Dewanis, who had been married for two weeks, were hijacked on November 13 on the way back to their five-star hotel in central Cape Town.

They had agreed to take a detour through a township but within three minutes of leaving the motorway, the taxi was ambushed by two gunmen.

Mr Dewani was thrown out and his wife’s body was found later. She had been shot in the neck.

Two men and Tongo were arrested and charged with murder.

Mr Dewani's spokesman, Max Clifford, has repeatedly insisted that he is nothing other than a victim.

Mrs Dewani and her father, Vinod Hindocha, who flew to England to deal with a matter 'so delicate' that he may miss his daughter's memorial service in Mariestad, the Swedish town where she was born