London, Jan 12 (IANS) A car hijacker in the murder case of Indian-origin bride Anni Dewani has told prison officials that their purpose was only to kill and never to rape her, as her husband Shrien ‘opened the door of the taxi and walked away’, a media report said Wednesday.
Xolile Mngeni, 23, told prison officials that the 28-year-old newly-wed was executed as she cowered in the back of the cab he had hijacked.
His claims, however, contradict those that say Anni and her husband Shrien were the victims of a botched robbery while on honeymoon in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mngeni has alleged the 30-year-old Shrien opened the door of the taxi and walked away before his wife was shot dead, and that he was not thrown out of the window as he claims, according to the Daily Mirror.
The car hijacker was speaking about the last moments of Anni’s life from a prison near Cape Town, where he is awaiting trial for murder and kidnapping.
‘The purpose of the -exercise was simply to kill. Rape was never part of the plan,’ A prison official said.
But Mngeni claimed he did not know who ordered Anni’s death.
He also did not reveal whether he or co-accused Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, pulled the trigger.
‘He has admitted he was at the heart of it. He says he was told by Qwabe that there was somebody he needed to kill and he would be paid,’ the jail source said.
Mngeni and Qwabe -travelled together to an arranged ambush point in Gugulethu township where Anni and Shrien arrived in a taxi driven by Zola Tongo.
The 31-year-old cabbie, jailed for 18 years for his part in the murder, however, claims Shrien paid the gang 1,400 pounds to have his wife killed.
The Bristol businessman has denied any -involvement in Anni’s death, describing the claims as ‘ludicrous’.
Shrien’s representative Max Clifford also rejected Mngeni’s claims after the accused alleged he was tortured during interrogation.
‘If this man was tortured, then you cannot rely too much on what he’s saying,’ Clifford said.
