The British husband of a Swedish bride hijacked and murdered during their South African honeymoon was today said to have plotted his wife's death.
A plea agreement put forward by a suspect in the killing of 28-year-old Anni Dewani last month alleges her husband, Shrien, conspired in the hit, local media reports say.
Zola Tongo, 31, was driving the taxi in which the Dewanis were travelling when they were allegedly hijacked. Her body was later found in a Cape Town township. She had been shot in the back of the neck.
Shrien Dewani, 31, from Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, has previously denied any involvement in his wife's murder.
Tongo reportedly said in the plea agreement – read out by the prosecution at the Western Cape high court today – that he met the newlyweds when they arrived at Cape Town airport and took them to their hotel. When Shrien Dewani was alone with Tongo, he asked him to arrange her death, it was alleged.
Tongo said Shrien Dewani offered 50,000 rand each (£4,595), but paid only 1,000.
Tongo was charged with murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating the ends of justice. He faces 18 years' imprisonment for his role in the murder.
He was expected to testify against other suspects, including two South Africans who were arrested soon after Anni's body was discovered.
Shrien Dewani had told authorities the couple was returning to their hotel from dinner when gunmen forced him and the driver from the vehicle. Anni's father, Vinod Hindocha, was in court as the details of his daughter's murder were revealed. Later he said his family were "very, very confident about the police investigation".
The publicist Max Clifford, who has been hired by Dewani, told Sky News today his client thought the allegation of involvement in his wife's murder is "absurd and obscene", and that he was "totally innocent of the horrendous crime".
Clifford said: "It's horrendous enough what happened and to have this on top of it is an absolute nightmare. We have got reservations about what has been given as evidence today; let's see what evidence there is to back up these accusations".
South African authorities had not contacted Dewani, who returned to Britain soon after his wife's body was found, Clifford said.
A spokesman for South Africa's national prosecuting office, Mthunzi Mhaga, said a bid to request Dewani's extradition was "a matter that is likely to be considered" and that "based on what happened in court today, obviously the investigations are going to intensify". The Guardian
