Gunman Found Guilty Of Slaying Honeymoon Bride Anni Dewani, 28, After Describing How She Begged For Her Life

A terminally-ill hitman accused of pulling the trigger in the murder of newlywed Anni Dewani during her South African honeymoon has been convicted of murder. 

Prosecutors believe Xolile Mngeni was hired by Mrs Dewani's British husband, Shrien, to carry out the killing in an attack designed to resemble a car hijacking in Cape Town's impoverished Gugulethu township. Mr Dewani is now the only man implicated by authorities yet to face trial.

Mngeni, 25, was found guilty of premeditated murder after a judge at the Western Cape High Court heard an 'avalanche of evidence' against him.

He was further convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

'The State has proven its case beyond reasonable doubt,' Judge Robert Henney told the court.

'The case against the accused is overwhelming and the accused could barely avoid the avalanche of evidence from crashing down on him.'

Mngeni was acquitted of Mrs Dewani's kidnapping - deemed to have been part of a single chain of events leading to her murder.

He stood expressionless as the judgment was delivered while his family watched, wide-eyed, from the gallery above. At one stage it was thought Mngeni may not be fit to face the charges because of a brain tumour.

It may not be fit to face the charges because of a brain tumour.

Businessman Mr Dewani, who has been held at Fromeside Clinic, a secure mental health hospital in Bristol, is fighting extradition to South Africa.

In the video shown in court, Mngeni said he asked Mawewe: 'What are we going to do with these two people?'

The alleged accomplice replied that he would separate the couple.
At this point, the 'white man' apparently said he could not be dropped off alone because 'this is his wife'.

The vehicle came to a stop and Mawewe shouted to the man: 'Voetsek, voetsek, get out, get out'.

His wife then started crying. They drove off again and stopped a while later. Mngeni said Mawewe tried to take a small bag from the woman but she held onto it.

He heard a gunshot, and asked Mewewe what had caused him to release it. The accomplice told Mngeni he could not tell him what to do and they got into an argument.

The vehicle was eventually abandoned in Ilitha Park. The men saw two policemen and ran away, hiding the phones and camera in a nearby bush, said Mngeni.