State Alleges Five Conspired To Murder Anni Dewani
Wednesday, December 08, 2010 | Comments: 0
The SAPS in addition to Scotland Yard have confirmed the arrest of Shrien Dewani for the kidnapping, robbery and murder of his wife, honeymoon tourist Anni Dewani, in Cape Town South Africa on November 13.
Warrant Of Arrest
A warrant was issued by the SA Police Services for Dewani's arrest which was then forwarded to British authorities.
Brigadier Sally de Beer said in a statement : "I can confirm that a warrant for the arrest of the husband of the slain tourist, Anni Dewani, was obtained by the South African Police Service after testimony implicating Shrien Dewani in her murder was given in court."
This refers to the plea bargain of Zola Tonga which was concluded in court yesterday.
Scotland Yard on Wednesday morning confirmed the arrest :
"Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Extradition Unit have yesterday, Tuesday 7 December, arrested Shrien Prakash Dewani, 30, (29.12.79) on behalf of the South African authorities," Scotland Yard said in a statement.
"He surrendered himself at a Bristol police station and was arrested... under a Provisional Arrest Warrant issued earlier on the same evening, at the request of the South African authorities, on suspicion of conspiring to murder Anni Dewani."
Dewani is due to appear in custody at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later today according to Scotland Yard.
British newspaper The Sun report that an extradition application was being prepared ahead of the proceedings.
'Summary of Substantial Facts'
This all follows the allegations made in the Western Cape High Court by Zola Tongo in terms of his plea and sentence agreement which was accepted by Judge John Hlophe on Tuesday.
In it, at the 'Summary of Substantial Facts', prosecutor Rodney de Kock sets out that Tongo's evidence states that :
“The accused, Shrien Dewani, Xolile Mngeni, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and a person known to the state had conspired to have the deceased kidnapped, robbed and murdered following a simulated hijacking in order to conceal the fact that the deceased was in fact kidnapped, robbed and murdered in the furtherance of a common purpose.”
Accordingly should the matter proceed to trial - without the charges being dropped or the accused pleading guilty beforehand - the issue of ‘common purpose’ is going to present a central theme that is heard throughout.
Tongo Version
Tongo’s version of events – kindly brought to you by the Cape Times - sets out the following :
He met the Dewanis at the airport and after dropping them at their hotel Shrien allegedly approached him to arrange a hit on Anni.
Tongo says that he was then put in touch with Qwabe by a middle man who wanted R5000 for the introduction.
He alleges that on that 13th November he took Shrien to exchange dollars which was when he purportedly told the driver how he wanted it done. This is how the plan to simulate the hijacking was allegedly agreed upon.
He says that on the same day he met with Mngeni and Qwabe in his car and they agreed on how they would carry out the plan including ejecting Tongo and Dewani before carrying on with Anni to conclusion.
Tongo alleges that he arrived at the hotel a bit late that night to pick up the couple, took them around some city sites before heading towards Gugulethu. He said that he had agreed to meet Mngeni and Qwabe at the intersection of NY112 and NY108 in Gugulethu.
When they got there the pair weren’t there which led to a supper at the Surfside Restaurant in the Strand, just prior to which Tongo alleges Dewani asked what was happening as he wanted it done that night.
Having spoken to the others on the phone, who advised him that they had arrived at the agreed venue late, Tongo confirmed to Dewani that it was on.
The allegations are that Shrien Dewani and the deceased then got back in the car and Tongo drove on the N2 motorway towards Cape Town. He added that some time during the trip he had sent a text message to Dewani not to forget about the money to which he texted back that it was in an envelope in a pouch in the front passenger seat.
Tongo then drove to the agreed spot where he had arranged to meet Mngeni and Qwabe.
It was at this point that Mngeni and Qwabe allegedly approached the stationary vehicle.
Tongo alleges that Qwabe got in at the driver’s side and Mngeni got in at the back with the Dewanis lying down on the back seat. Qwabe drove off while Dewani and Tongo pretended that they were being “hijacked” by Mngeni and Qwabe.
After a short distance Tongo was ordered out of the vehicle which continued with the Dewanis.
Tongo alleges that he knew Shrien Dewani would be dropped off at some further point whereafter Anni would be kidnapped, robbed and murdered by Qwabe and Mngeni in accordance with the plan.
He then says that the deceased was subsequently murdered, by being shot, as they had all planned, in his motor vehicle near Sinqolanthi Street, Ilitha Park, Khayelitsha.
Tongo alleges that subsequent to the deceased’s death he met with Shrien Dewani at the hotel on 16 November 2010 where he received R1 000 as payment for his part in orchestrating the crimes.
Common Purpose
The doctrine of common purpose is a set of rules of the common law that regulates the attribution of criminal liability to a person who undertakes jointly with another person or persons the commission of a crime.
Burchell and Milton define the doctrine of common purpose in the following terms:
“Where two or more people agree to commit a crime or actively associate in a joint unlawful enterprise, each will be responsible for specific criminal conduct committed by one of their number which falls within their common design. Liability arises from their ‘common purpose’ to commit the crime.”
In practice the doctrine finds application in a variety of crimes other than murder and these include treason, public violence, robbery, housebreaking, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault, theft, fraud.
The state is therefore going to set out to prove that Shrien Dewani was a party to a common purpose to kidnap, rob and murder Anni Dewani and that one or any of them did the deed.
In light of what Tongo has set out, that there was a prior agreement between the 5 to carry out the murder in the form of a simulated hijacking.
The essence of the doctrine is that if two or more people, having a common purpose to commit a crime, act together in order to achieve that purpose, the conduct of each of them in the execution of that purpose is imputed to the others.
These requirements are often couched in terms which relate to consequence crimes such as murder.
Warrant Of Arrest
A warrant was issued by the SA Police Services for Dewani's arrest which was then forwarded to British authorities.
Brigadier Sally de Beer said in a statement : "I can confirm that a warrant for the arrest of the husband of the slain tourist, Anni Dewani, was obtained by the South African Police Service after testimony implicating Shrien Dewani in her murder was given in court."
This refers to the plea bargain of Zola Tonga which was concluded in court yesterday.
Scotland Yard on Wednesday morning confirmed the arrest :
"Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service's Extradition Unit have yesterday, Tuesday 7 December, arrested Shrien Prakash Dewani, 30, (29.12.79) on behalf of the South African authorities," Scotland Yard said in a statement.
"He surrendered himself at a Bristol police station and was arrested... under a Provisional Arrest Warrant issued earlier on the same evening, at the request of the South African authorities, on suspicion of conspiring to murder Anni Dewani."
Dewani is due to appear in custody at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court later today according to Scotland Yard.
British newspaper The Sun report that an extradition application was being prepared ahead of the proceedings.
'Summary of Substantial Facts'
This all follows the allegations made in the Western Cape High Court by Zola Tongo in terms of his plea and sentence agreement which was accepted by Judge John Hlophe on Tuesday.
In it, at the 'Summary of Substantial Facts', prosecutor Rodney de Kock sets out that Tongo's evidence states that :
“The accused, Shrien Dewani, Xolile Mngeni, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and a person known to the state had conspired to have the deceased kidnapped, robbed and murdered following a simulated hijacking in order to conceal the fact that the deceased was in fact kidnapped, robbed and murdered in the furtherance of a common purpose.”
Accordingly should the matter proceed to trial - without the charges being dropped or the accused pleading guilty beforehand - the issue of ‘common purpose’ is going to present a central theme that is heard throughout.
Tongo Version
Tongo’s version of events – kindly brought to you by the Cape Times - sets out the following :
He met the Dewanis at the airport and after dropping them at their hotel Shrien allegedly approached him to arrange a hit on Anni.
Tongo says that he was then put in touch with Qwabe by a middle man who wanted R5000 for the introduction.
He alleges that on that 13th November he took Shrien to exchange dollars which was when he purportedly told the driver how he wanted it done. This is how the plan to simulate the hijacking was allegedly agreed upon.
He says that on the same day he met with Mngeni and Qwabe in his car and they agreed on how they would carry out the plan including ejecting Tongo and Dewani before carrying on with Anni to conclusion.
Tongo alleges that he arrived at the hotel a bit late that night to pick up the couple, took them around some city sites before heading towards Gugulethu. He said that he had agreed to meet Mngeni and Qwabe at the intersection of NY112 and NY108 in Gugulethu.
When they got there the pair weren’t there which led to a supper at the Surfside Restaurant in the Strand, just prior to which Tongo alleges Dewani asked what was happening as he wanted it done that night.
Having spoken to the others on the phone, who advised him that they had arrived at the agreed venue late, Tongo confirmed to Dewani that it was on.
The allegations are that Shrien Dewani and the deceased then got back in the car and Tongo drove on the N2 motorway towards Cape Town. He added that some time during the trip he had sent a text message to Dewani not to forget about the money to which he texted back that it was in an envelope in a pouch in the front passenger seat.
Tongo then drove to the agreed spot where he had arranged to meet Mngeni and Qwabe.
It was at this point that Mngeni and Qwabe allegedly approached the stationary vehicle.
Tongo alleges that Qwabe got in at the driver’s side and Mngeni got in at the back with the Dewanis lying down on the back seat. Qwabe drove off while Dewani and Tongo pretended that they were being “hijacked” by Mngeni and Qwabe.
After a short distance Tongo was ordered out of the vehicle which continued with the Dewanis.
Tongo alleges that he knew Shrien Dewani would be dropped off at some further point whereafter Anni would be kidnapped, robbed and murdered by Qwabe and Mngeni in accordance with the plan.
He then says that the deceased was subsequently murdered, by being shot, as they had all planned, in his motor vehicle near Sinqolanthi Street, Ilitha Park, Khayelitsha.
Tongo alleges that subsequent to the deceased’s death he met with Shrien Dewani at the hotel on 16 November 2010 where he received R1 000 as payment for his part in orchestrating the crimes.
Common Purpose
The doctrine of common purpose is a set of rules of the common law that regulates the attribution of criminal liability to a person who undertakes jointly with another person or persons the commission of a crime.
Burchell and Milton define the doctrine of common purpose in the following terms:
“Where two or more people agree to commit a crime or actively associate in a joint unlawful enterprise, each will be responsible for specific criminal conduct committed by one of their number which falls within their common design. Liability arises from their ‘common purpose’ to commit the crime.”
In practice the doctrine finds application in a variety of crimes other than murder and these include treason, public violence, robbery, housebreaking, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault, theft, fraud.
The state is therefore going to set out to prove that Shrien Dewani was a party to a common purpose to kidnap, rob and murder Anni Dewani and that one or any of them did the deed.
In light of what Tongo has set out, that there was a prior agreement between the 5 to carry out the murder in the form of a simulated hijacking.
The essence of the doctrine is that if two or more people, having a common purpose to commit a crime, act together in order to achieve that purpose, the conduct of each of them in the execution of that purpose is imputed to the others.
These requirements are often couched in terms which relate to consequence crimes such as murder.
