The mastermind of young bride Anni Dewani’s brutal murder has spoken publicly about the plot, admitting: ‘I’m not proud of what I did.’
Anni, 28, was killed in the back of a taxi while on honeymoon with her new husband in Gugulethu township, near Cape Town on November 13, 2010.
She had been married for only a few weeks to British millionaire nursing home boss Shrien Dewani, now 41.
She suffered a single gunshot to her neck after her husband fled the taxi which was later found abandoned with her body in it.
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 Swedish engineer wife with the taxi driver and paying him and two accomplices, but was cleared.
Now gangster Monde Mbolombo has given his version of the robbery-murder to a TV documentary team.
Anni Dewani, 28, was killed in the back of a taxi while on honeymoon with her new husband Shrien Dewani (both pictured at their wedding), now 41, near Cape Town in November 2010
CCTV footage caught gangster Monde Mbolombo (pictured above) on the phone to taxi driver Zola Tongo. He has given his version of the robbery-murder to a TV documentary team
Recalling events leading up to Anni’s murder, Mbolombo, 40, told the programme that taxi driver Zola Tongo came to see him at a hotel he was working at.
‘Tongo came to me and he said “do I know any hitman?”. I was shocked.’
He said Tongo told him that he would be bringing a couple into the township and “the husband, wants the wife to be killed.”
‘Tongo said “so this guy wants his wife to be murdered and it must look like it’s a hijacking“.’
Mr Dewani has always maintained his innocence and accused the three men convicted of Anni’s murder, of framing him.
In 2014 a South African court declared him not guilty of charges he arranged the murder. The judgement meant in effect he had been framed.
Asked why he had got involved in the murder plot, Mbolombo said: ‘To tell the truth, I don’t know really.
‘That’s the question I’ve been asking myself all these years, why did I say yes?’
In the TV series Mbolombo tells of his anguish over his involvement over the killing.
He was granted immunity from prosecution for helping police investigating Anni’s murder.
Dewani was accused of organising the hit on his Swedish engineer wife with the taxi driver and paying him and two accomplices, but was cleared
Anni Dewani’s sister, Ami Denborg (left), brother Anish Hindocha (second left at rear), father Vinod Hindocha (second right) and mother Nilam Hindocha (right) leave Westminster Magistrates’ Court in 2013
Asked if he thought about how a woman was going to end up dead, he broke down in tears and said: ‘Because of my role, I’m still stuck here. I’m not proud of what I did.’
But his supposed remorse was dismissed as ‘crying crocodile tears’ by Anni’s family who are still searching for answers to the tragedy in their quest for closure.
They urged him to face them himself and tell the full story of how Anni was shot dead in a taxi near Cape Town 11 years ago.
Anni’s uncle Ashok Hindocha told MailOnline: ‘Even after all these years, We still have so many questions that need answering.
‘There is still key information to be revealed and holes in the story to be filled.
‘Some of the mobile phones used by the men who killed Anni have never been found. Does he know anything about what happened to these and who got rid of them?
‘There could be very important information on those phones. We were told there were text messages that were sent between them.
Recalling events leading up to Anni’s murder, Mbolombo, 40, told the programme that taxi driver Zola Tongo (pictured above) came to see him at a hotel he was working at
Mr Dewani, pictured in 2014, said he and his wife were victims of a random kidnapping and his life was spared as the two gunmen pushed him out of the vehicle window
‘We are still anxious to see those messages on those phones and know who said what.’
But Mr Hindocha added: ‘Tears are not enough.
‘When Shrien was found not guilty, the judge in the trial said Mbolombo was not immune from prosecution. But he was never charged. He has been lucky to escape justice. ‘
Mr Dewani said he and his wife were kidnapped as they toured the township in Tongo’s taxi.
Tongo, who is serving 18 years for the murder, said he was paid R15,000 (£700) to organise the hitmen.
But millionaire care home boss Mr Dewani, who fought an extradition batttle for nearly four years, said he and his wife were victims of a random kidnapping and his life was spared as the two gunmen pushed him out of the vehicle window.
At his trial, he admitted sleeping with male prostitutes and paying for sex. The judge was also told that he surfed gay websites the day after his wife had been murdered.
However, Dewani was acquitted of all charges and walked out of court a free man.
The judge found she could not rely on the police investigation and that statements taken from the alleged accomplices had been contradictory.
Mr Dewani has always maintained his innocence and accused the three men convicted of Anni’s murder, of framing him. In 2014 a South African court declared him not guilty of charges he arranged the murder. The judgement meant in effect he had been framed
The court also saw CCTV of Mr Dewani viewing gay porn while his father-in-law Vinod Hindocha sat close to him in a hotel lobby after flying to South Africa.
More footage showed Mr Dewani disappearing in the hotel lobby with Tongo, and the taxi driver re-emerging carrying a paper bag. Mr Dewani said he was paying him his fee for driving the honeymooners.
The post-mortem examination confirmed Anni was neither sexually assaulted nor raped.
She was shot through the hand and neck, possibly as she lay face down in the taxi.
Tongo confessed to his part in the killing and is serving a reduced sentence.
Last year he was due to be released on parole, but was kept behind bars after opposition from Anni’s family.
Her father Vinod flew back to Cape Town to question him further, but was unhappy with the answers he gave and decided against him being given his freedom.
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.
The four-part documentary series ‘Anni: The Honeymoon Murder’ will be available on Discovery Plus on Saturday November 13.