Anni Dewani’s killer granted parole despite family protesting

The man found guilty of murdering newlywed Anni Dewani in November 2010 was on Friday granted parole, finalising a process which was in its final stages.

This according to SABC News.

Zola Tongo pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.

He has served 11 years behind bars, and became eligible to be considered for parole in 2020 after being deemed successfully rehabilitated, TimesLIVE reported.

At the time, he had served half of his sentence.

Dewani’s family met with Tongo on Thursday in a victim/offender dialogue, the Department of Correctional Services’ spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed to the publication.

The family reportedly tried to motivate for the parole board not to release Tongo.

Dewani’s uncle Ashok Hindocha told eNCA in a written statement Tongo’s release was “a shame to the South African justice system”.

Timeline of events

Newlyweds Anni and Shrien Dewani, from Bristol in the UK, were kidnapped at gunpoint in Gugulethu, Western Cape, on 13 November 2010.

Shrien was later released unharmed, with the lifeless body of Anni found in the back seat of the taxi the pair had been travelling in. She sustained a gunshot wound to the neck.

Tongo, a taxi driver, was arrested later in November, along with Mzwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni.

Mngeni, who was serving a life sentence for reportedly pulling the trigger, died of a brain tumour in October 2014.

Qwabe was sentenced to 25 years behind bars in 2012.

Shrien, who said he managed to escape being shot, was accused of being the mastermind behind Anni’s murder.

After years of fighting extradition, he appeared in the Cape Town High Court in October 2014, where he was later cleared of the murder of his wife due to insufficient evidence.

The case was thrown out by Judge Jeanette Traverso, who said testimony from a key witness was contradictory.

This despite Tongo confessing during his trial he had received R15,000 from Shrien to find people to kill Anni, eNCA reported.

When Shrien appeared in court in 2014, the sensational trial involved him revealing he had found love in the form of Brazilian photographer Gledison Lopez Martins.

His sexual orientation was reportedly a source of tension in his relationship with Anni.

Her father Vinod Hindocha at the time reportedly asked Shrien: “Why the f**k did he get married if he knew he was gay? He was lying to me all this time.”

 The court was also told that Anni wanted a divorce, BBC reported.

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Compiled by Nica Richards.