One of the South African men accused of killing Swedish honeymooner Anni Dewani pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to 25 years in a plea deal that implicated her husband Shrien Dewani.
Mziwamadoda Qwabe pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping, robbery and illegal possession of a firearm, and said he had been recruited by fellow suspect Zola Tongo to carry out a hit ordered by Dewani.
"Zola told me that he will bring a couple into the township and that the husband wanted the wife killed," Qwabe's plea bargain stated.
The couple were on honeymoon in Cape Town in November 2010, when she was killed in a murder that prosecutors say was set up to look like a botched carjacking in a vehicle driven by Tongo.
The plea bargain is the second to finger Dewani, whom South African prosecutors are fighting to extradite from Britain to stand trial.
"The agreement was that Zola and the husband would be unharmed and that the deceased would be kidnapped, robbed and killed," said Qwabe, who said the driver had texted him when approaching a predetermined place.
"The kidnapping and robbery were part of the plan to make it appear that this was a random criminal act, unconnected to Zola and the husband."
Qwabe stated that the driver and Shrien Dewani were ordered out of the car in separate areas before his wife was shot dead with a single bullet.
The trio were robbed before two men had been dropped off and goods worth 90,000 rands ($11,000, 8,900 euros), including a smart phone and jewelry, were taken from Anni.
Third co-accused Xolile Mngeni, who has a malignant brain tumour which has delayed the case going to trial, fired the shot from the front passenger seat, said Qwabe, who said the pair had agreed to a 15,000 rand fee.
"While I was driving the vehicle Watti (Mngeni) shot and killed the deceased," he stated.
The businessman from Bristol, west of London, had claimed that he was forced out of the car window during the hijacking.
Prosecutors hailed the plea agreement as a step toward firming up the case against Dewani.
"It's a positive step for the prosecution because we are now a step closer to getting information on what happened on that day, which will shed some light on the role played by Shrien Dewani," prosecuting authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila told AFP.
In 2010, driver Tongo entered his own plea and turned state witness, claiming the newlywed had ordered the car-jacking and paid him. He is serving 18 years in prison.
Cobus Esterhuizen of Legal Aid, which provided an attorney to Qwabe, said the plea had meant a 25-year jail term instead of facing three possible life sentences in the dock and had also strengthened the state's case.
"Every plea agreement or person that pleads guilty strengthens their case as well," he said, saying the pair were "not the main accused" in the matter.
Dewani returned to Britain with his wife's body days after the killing, but was later arrested and South Africa is awaiting his extradition to stand trial in Cape Town.
Britain has approved his extradition but on March 30 the London High Court temporarily halted the process, citing mental health grounds.
His lawyers said he was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and argued the 32-year-old's life could be at risk if he were extradited.
He has strongly denied arranging the contract killing of his 28-year-old Swedish-born wife.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hitman-dewani-honeymoon-murder-gets-25-years-110205728.html
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