One of the killers of honeymoon bride Anni Dewani will soon be freed on parole from jail in South Africa, despite having served barely half of his 18-year sentence.
Zola Tongo, now 42, was alleged to have hired two men to kill Anni, 28, on the orders of her new husband in Gugulethu township, near Cape Town on November 13, 2010.
She was killed in the back of Tongo’s taxi, suffering a single gunshot to her neck after her husband fled the taxi which was later found abandoned with her body in it.
Tongo pleaded guilty to his part in the murder, and was sentenced to 18 years. Her husband – Shrien Dewani – was cleared of all charges.
Tongo was due to be released from Malmesbury prison on parole in 2020, but was kept behind bars after opposition from Anni’s family.
He since renewed his plea for parole, and his lawyers were successful in arguing for his release. He will leave prison on June 21.
Zola Tongo, now 42, was alleged to have hired two men to kill Anni, 28, on the orders of her new husband in Gugulethu township, near Cape Town on November 13, 2010. He is now set to be released from prison on June 21 after successful pleading for parole
Anni’s family reacted furiously to the news, with her uncle Ashok Hindocha telling MailOnline that the decision has brought ‘shame to the South African justice system.’
Speaking on behalf of the family, he said: ‘This just confirms that South Africa doesn’t want to reduce crime rather encourage it.
‘Good police work has gone down the drain. We saw and heard that at the main court hearing, but it seems that this applies even further down.’
We were let down when the trial against Shrien Dewani was stopped half way through by the judge and we have been let down again.
‘I know South Africans feel robbed of the full story of how an innocent young women on honeymoon came to die here. They are now being cheated by the legal system.
‘I spoke to Tongo yesterday. I told him that he and I could speak man-to-man, with nobody else in the room and no recording.
‘All I asked him was for him to tell us what happened to his mobile phone, because we know the police say there were messages on there that they were interested in.
‘We believe he is hiding some important information. He lied to us. He is keeping valuable information to himself.
‘He told us that if he is freed he would have a job with a relative’s transport firm, But he couldn’t even tell us the relative’s name or the name of the company.’
Anni’s father Vinod said: ‘Tongo is a ruthless killer. A greedy man who helped take Anni’s life for a small amount of cash.
‘He was given 25 years after he agreed to tell the police about what really happened. But he is a liar who has shown no genuine remorse for what he helped to do to my daughter.
‘As far as I am concerned, they should lock him up again and hide the key. He is an evil man. He always will be and now he can carry on with his life as if nothing happened.’
Tongo’s parole was granted on a number of conditions, including house detention, a community service order and a ban of drinking alcohol and taking drugs.
Rynold Sedeman , chairperson of the parole board, said Tongo must undergo treatment from a psychologist and be assessed by social workers while on parole.
Anni Dewani was killed in the back of Tongo’s taxi, suffering a single gunshot to her neck after her husband fled the taxi which was later found abandoned with her body in it
His house arrest will be in place for the first year of his six-year parole, after which he will be a completely free man – providing he doesn’t breach the conditions.
He must also submit to High Risk subversion monitoring for 12 months, and has been ordered not to intimidate or threaten anyone, commit a crime or contact the victims.
The killer gained his freedom after a six-hour parole hearing, according to The Sun. It was attended by Vinod and his brother Ashok.
South African law states that a convicted criminal who is serving 25 years or less in prison is eligibly for parole after serving half their sentence.
Swedish-born Anni had been married for only a few weeks to British millionaire nursing home boss Shrien Dewani, now 41
Swedish-born Anni had been married for only a few weeks to British millionaire nursing home boss Shrien Dewani, now 41.
He said his life was spared as the two gunmen forced him out of the vehicle at gunpoint, before murdering his new bride.
Dewani was accused of organising the hit on his engineer wife with the taxi driver and paying him and two accomplices, but was cleared.
Tongo was said to have been paid R15,000 (£700) by Shrien to organise two hitmen to kill. He was first set to be released in August 2020 on parole.
However, after the parole board decided to release him, an appeal by Anni’s father her uncle led to a rethink.
Tongo was visited in his cell and was grilled face-to-face to reveal the truth of what happened but he gave nothing away and Anni’s family demanded South African authorities revoked his parole.
Tongo had packed his bags and said goodbye to his cellmates and his family had driven up to Malmesbury Prison 40 miles outside of Cape Town to pick him up.
But with less than 24 hours before he was due to be released, Tongo’s freedom was taken away again.
When news of Tongo’s pending release in 2020 broke, Anni’s father Vinod said: ‘This man should be behind bars he is dangerous to society and has never told the truth and deserves to be inside.
‘If you are a murderer and you know you have done something wrong naturally you will try to be nice in prison to escape the long sentence and he was pulling the wool over eyes’.
Tongo was due to be released from Malmesbury prison on parole in 2020, but was kept behind bars after opposition from Anni’s family. Pictured: Zola Tongo, covers his face in the Cape Town High Court, on December 7, 2010 in Cape Town
After Tongo’s parole was revoked in 2020, Vinod said: ‘I am glad he is remaining locked up’.
Mziwamadoda Qwabe is serving life and the man who fired the shot that killed Anni, Xolile Mngeni died from cancer in prison while serving his sentence.
Anni’s husband said his life was spared as the two gunmen forced him out of the vehicle at gunpoint, before murdering his new bride.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk