Anni Dewani
Swedish murder victim
Died when: 28 years 246 days (344 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Anni Ninna Dewani (née Hindocha; 12 March 1982 – 13 November 2010) was a Swedish woman of Indian origin who was murdered while on her honeymoon in South Africa after the taxi in which she and her husband Shrien Dewani were traveling was hijacked.
Three arrests were made in the days following the crime; hijackers Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni, and hotel receptionist Monde Mbolombo admitted to their involvement in an unintentionally fatal robbery and kidnapping.
Facing life in prison, Qwabe and Mbolombo later changed their stories to allege the crime had been a premeditated murder for hire at the behest of Anni's husband Shrien Dewani.
Taxi driver Zola Tongo initially claimed to be an innocent victim of the incident, but faced with the weight of evidence implicating him in the crime and in the wake of his fellow conspirators' allegations of a "murder for hire" plot, he too changed his story to allege the husband was the instigator.
Plea bargains were offered to the conspirators in exchange for future testimony in legal proceedings related to the crime.The allegation of the husband's involvement made global headlines;
Shrien Dewani's supporters denied the accusations, saying it was "ludicrous" to suggest he had solicited an attack on his wife from the first taxi driver he met within hours of their arrival in Cape Town.
Zola Tongo pleaded guilty to murder in December 2010 and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.Mziwamadoda Qwabe pleaded guilty to murder in August 2012 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Xolile Mngeni was tried and convicted of murder in November 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison.Monde Mbolombo admitted his involvement but was offered immunity in exchange for testimony against the other men alleged to have been involved in the crime.
South African prosecutors formulated charges against Shrien Dewani based on the later-discredited confessions of Tongo, Qwabe and Mbolombo, who were found to have committed perjury.
Charges were brought on the basis Anni had been the victim of a premeditated kidnapping and murder for hire that was staged to appear like a random carjacking, allegedly arranged by her husband.
Following a long legal battle, Shrien was extradited from the UK to South Africa to face trial.He was acquitted by a Western Cape High Court in December 2014.
