South Africa considering release of ‘Honeymoon Killer’

Xolile Mngeni, the convicted killer of Anni Dewani, has been recommended for compassionate release because he is dying of a brain tumour. Dewani, 28, was shot dead while on honeymoon in South Africa in November 2010. She was kidnapped during a taxi ride through a township in Cape Town’s outskirts. Her body was found in the back of the abandoned vehicle with a bullet wound to the neck. Her British husband is awaiting trial on suspicion of arranging her murder.

After we arrived at the hotel, Shrien Dewani approached me alone and asked me if I knew anyone that could ‘have a client of his taken off the scene.’ After some discussion with him, I understood that he wanted someone, a woman, killed.

Zola Tongo, taxi driver

Mngeni, who prosecutors claim was the hitman, and another accomplice, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, were handed life sentences in 2012 after pleading guilty to murder. A third man, taxi driver Zola Tongo, was given 18 years after admitting his role in the killing. He alleges he was offered R15,000 (US$1,400) to take part in the murder. South Africa’s Ministry of Justice is considering the recommendation for Mngeni’s release.

World Dewani