Dewani murder accused undergoes surgery

Xolile Mngeni, one of the two men currently in police custody for the murder of Anni Dewani, has had surgery to remove a brain tumour, the Wynberg Regional Court in Cape Town heard on Monday.

The other suspect, Mziwandoda Qwabe, stood alone in the dock for the second time before magistrate Jackie Redelinghuys, who remanded to August 2.

The director for public prosecutions in the Western Cape, Rodney de Kock, informed the court that Mngeni was at Groote Schuur Hospital, and that he hoped to have more information by August 2 as to Mngeni’s progress.

De Kock handed to the court a medical certificate as proof of Mngeni’s condition. He said the state was engaged in extradition processes to secure the presence of the deceased woman’s widower, Shrien Dewani, in the dock, together with the other two.

He said the state was hopeful about the outcome of the extradition proceedings taking place in a London court, and that the London hearing was scheduled for July 18 to 20.

De Kock said Mngeni’s absence made it impossible for the proceedings to progress as planned.

Four men were arrested for the murder—- Qwabe, Mngeni, Zola Tongo and Monde Mbolombo.

Tongo was jailed last year for 18 years in plea bargain proceedings, while Mbolombo has become a state witness against Mngeni and Qwabe.

Anni Dewani was shot dead last year in Gugulethu township near Cape Town, after her husband had allegedly paid four men to hijack his vehicle and kill his wife.

The newlyweds, from the United Kingdom, were on honeymoon in Cape Town and had gone to Somerset West near Cape Town for dinner on the night of the murder.

The husband was allowed by the police to return to the United Kingdom at a stage when there was no evidence to implicate him in the slaying.—Sapa