Murder of Anni Dewani

Anni Ninna Dewani (nee Hindocha) was a Swedish woman of Indian origin, born in Mariestad in 1982 after her family settled in Sweden following the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in the early 1970s. She met Shrien Dewani in London in 2009, moved to the United Kingdom in 2010, and the couple married near Mumbai, India, on 29 October 2010. On 7 November 2010 they arrived in South Africa for their honeymoon, spending several nights near the Kruger National Park before returning to Cape Town.

On the evening of 13 November 2010, the couple hired taxi driver Zola Tongo to drive them through the city. After dinner, as they were driven into the Gugulethu area, two armed men hijacked the vehicle. Tongo and Shrien Dewani were each ejected from the taxi during a robbery in which cash, jewellery and mobile telephones were taken. At about 07:50 the next morning, Anni Dewani was found dead in the back of the abandoned taxi in Lingelethu West, having suffered a single gunshot wound. A post-mortem examination recorded bruising consistent with a struggle and found no sign of sexual assault.

Three men were arrested within days. Two hijackers and a hotel receptionist first described the death as an unintended killing during a robbery and kidnapping. Facing long sentences, several later changed their accounts to allege the attack had been a premeditated murder for hire arranged by Shrien Dewani. Tongo, who had reported himself as an innocent victim, also revised his statement to implicate the husband. Plea bargains and, for the receptionist, immunity were offered in exchange for testimony.

Zola Tongo pleaded guilty to murder in December 2010 and was sentenced to 18 years. Mziwamadoda Qwabe pleaded guilty in August 2012 and received 25 years. Xolile Mngeni was convicted at trial in November 2012 and sentenced to life; he died in prison in October 2014 while terminally ill. Defence lawyers alleged during the proceedings that some confessions had been obtained through coercion, claims the trial courts rejected.

Shrien Dewani was extradited from the United Kingdom in April 2014 and charged with conspiracy, robbery, kidnapping, murder and obstructing justice. At his trial the key witnesses contradicted their earlier statements and one another. On 8 December 2014, Judge Traverso dismissed the case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, ruling there was no credible evidence linking him to the crime, and he was acquitted and exonerated. The court also found that earlier conclusions in the Mngeni trial had rested on flawed forensic evidence and perjured testimony. A United Kingdom coroner later declined to resume an inquest, citing the South African proceedings.