When police arrested 23-year-old Xolile Mngeni for the murder of Swedish newlywed Anni Dewani in Cape Town in November, he was already a wanted man.
Police issued a warrant of arrest for Mngeni in October 2008 after he failed to appear in a Khayelitsha court for possession of the drug ecstasy. Police and court records show that the warrant for his arrest is “still open”.
The Mail & Guardian has also established that Mngeni had been charged and released on bail in several criminal cases, but most were withdrawn or struck off the court roll, although police and court records do not give reasons for this.
The revelations are a serious indictment of the judicial system.
In 2007 Mngeni was arrested for the murder of 20-year-old Siyabonga Mcakatiso, who was shot in the stomach in Khayelitsha. Police records reveal that Mcakatiso was approached by five men on the day of his murder, but in a court appearance in February this year Mngeni appeared alone on a charge of murder. Police and court records do not reveal whether he was out on bail but police records show the case is still current.
National police commissioner Bheki Cele recently told Eyewitness News that Mngeni had a slew of previous charges against him. “He was on bail four times, for murder, attempted murder, owning illegal firearms and other stuff,” said Cele.
Colonel Vishnu Naidoo, the police spokesperson, said although investigating officers usually motivated for alleged serious offenders not to be granted bail, it was the court’s prerogative to decide whether an accused should be granted bail.
“However, there are serious efforts in place in terms of the justice crime prevention security cluster to address the issue,” Naidoo said.
Court records show that in most of the criminal cases Mngeni’s Khayelitsha address, date of birth and identity number remain unchanged, making him traceable. “Somebody wasn’t doing their job properly, because he couldn’t have been hard to find if there was a warrant of arrest out for him,” said a court official who asked not to be named. Other officials said it was common for cases to be withdrawn or dropped from the court roll in Khayelitsha because witnesses often did not show up for trial.
The M&G found several cases against Mngeni in both police and court records:
- A 2008 case against him of robbery with a firearm was withdrawn
- A 2008 case of common assault was withdrawn
- A 2007 attempted murder case was withdrawn in 2008. In this case, Mngeni had been granted R2 000 bail
- A 2009 robbery case was struck off the roll on August 13 this year
- In November last year, Mngeni received a suspended sentence in a 2008 case of common assault
- In the case of alleged drugs possession, Mngeni appeared to be out on bail, although the records do not give details. In October this year, a warrant of arrest was issued for him after he failed to appear in court
Vusi Tshabalala, Mngeni’s attorney, said he had not yet discussed bail with his client.
“I must look at his prospects and see if he is suitable to be granted bail,” Tshabalala said.
The other murder accused in the Dewani case, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, had a clean record, said his attorney Thabo Nogemane, and he would apply for bail for him early next year.
The two men, who both come from broken families and spent their youth in an impoverished section of Khayelitsha, live in the same street.
Dad denies families are close
The families of Anni and Shrien Dewani have had no contact with each other since Anni’s funeral last month, her father, Vinod Hindocha, said this week.
This contradicts claims by the Dewani family that relations between the families are good.
“There has been absolutely no contact between us since her funeral,” Hindocha said. “They have not called us.”
He said he wanted to see justice done for his daughter, who was murdered in Khayelitsha on November 13. She was shot in the neck. “If Shrien is not guilty, he must go back and say, ‘I didn’t do it and I am here’. I just want justice for my daughter,” he said, speaking from Mariestad in Sweden. Hindocha, an electrician, said he had not been back to work since
Anni’s murder.
Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe are set to appear again in the Wynberg regional court on February 25.
“I am trying to change some tickets, which I booked eight months back, for a family trip to South Africa,” Hindocha said. “I want to be there from day one, for Anni.”