South Africa - Anni Dewani, 28, shot to death, Gugulethu, 13 Nov 2010 #3

[PrimeSuspect]

I think it something to do with the CCTV when Tongo is in the hotel parking area, and he opened the front door of the car. He says to drop rubbish out of the car.



http://ewn.co.za/Features/dewani-live-blog

Thank you, I forgot about that.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01#sabcnews 3m3 minutes ago

Van Zyl: When accused and his wife got into the car, how did it come that you showed them the town?

Tongo: discussed it early on Saturday after exchanging the money and again when I went to pick them up I explained I'm going to take them around.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

EWN Reporter ‏@ewnreporter 2m2 minutes ago

VZ: did you tell them where you were going after town?

Tongo: yes, said to them we were going to view the location nightlife.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01#sabcnews 2m2 minutes ago

Tongo: I said we going to go and see night life in the location.

Van Zyl: and they were happy with that?

Tongo: Yes.

 

[KING Charles]

Would such an astute and travel savvy person as SD not know the going rate? He seems to know all this in his other travels. Very hard to decide what is going on here, but Tongo is failing badly, none of it makes sense. Unless he just isn't a clever man and this will be exploited by VZ and shown up to the judge. :dunno:

I really can't understand it at all. V.Z. Made Tongo appear such a fool when he questioned him on his vehicle and leaving it abandoned. It doesn't make any sense like you have said. I am finding it all quite confusing.

 

[Britlaws]

Is it me or is this a farce?! Do the PT have anything in terms of evidence that is going to go any way to establish SD's guilt. The fact that the state were so quick to secure 2 plea bargains and agree to immunity from prosecution for the other, to get them to testify against SD leads me to think they haven't. If they had, then they'd all be in jail with a mandatory sentence.

My planned robbery scenario back on page ten is reasonably possibly true and is made more so by this guys evidence. He is not stupid and he lives in the townships where everyone knows that life is cheap and how to watch their backs. That there would be flimsy arrangements for payments to killers and that he wouldn't have considered what could have happened to his car and the resultant effect on his income is frankly ludicrous.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01#sabcnews 54s54 seconds ago

Tongo: the accused never said he was going to have dinner in Somerset West. Also where the statement says 'same lady'. It was my decision to go to Somerset West.

(not too sure what journo was going to say there about 'same lady', she might come back to it. My usual journo has gone awol, probably battery flat.)

Ayesha ‏@CloraVannieKaap 41s41 seconds ago

Van Zyl reads from Tongo's affidavit where he says Dewani instructed him to take them to the Strand for dinner. He disagrees.


Tongo: It was my decision to go to Somerset West.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Leila Samodien ‏@Leila_Luck 4m4 minutes ago

Lunch adjournment at #DewaniTrial. Tongo cross-exam continues at 2pm.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Is it me or is this a farce?! Do the PT have anything in terms of evidence that is going to go any way to establish SD's guilt. The fact that the state were so quick to secure 2 plea bargains and agree to immunity from prosecution for the other, to get them to testify against SD leads me to think they haven't. If they had, then they'd all be in jail with a mandatory sentence.

My planned robbery scenario back on page ten is reasonably possibly true and is made more so by this guys evidence. He is not stupid and he lives in the townships where everyone knows that life is cheap and how to watch their backs. That there would be flimsy arrangements for payments to killers and that he wouldn't have considered what could have happened to his car and the resultant effect on his income is frankly ludicrous.

It is a ransom kidnapping gone wrong?

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Forgive me if I have missed something (or quite a lot lol) but, what is to say that these 4 SA guys hadn't dreamed up this plan beforehand, i.e. the taxi driver gaining the confidence of a rich tourist(s), selling him/them an expensive bespoke private tour like a helicopter ride or a package of such tours, taking them round the city, arranging at some point for cash for the helicopter/tours to be with them in the vehicle on an evening, when they also have all the expensive jewellery on etc. - where the sole intention is together to rob them at some point and make out the taxi driver is also a victim. Here they would be maximising the value of their haul... but they would have to wait for the 'right' tourist(s) - ones who like to deal in cash to get a bargain etc.

Say (hypothetically) that said robbery goes wrong and poor Anni is killed, which none of the 4 intended. Had this not happened then the robbery would just be one in a long list of serious township crimes that the police have insufficient resources to investigate, so the chances of detection would probably not be great. Now its murder, of a tourist no less, so SA would pull all (or most) of the stops out and the 4 would know they are in trouble. They then would all have time before arrest to use the evidence with potential to be the most incriminating, i.e. all the phone calls, to their advantage i.e. in securing plea bargains by implicating Dewani to significantly reduce potential life sentences.

As we saw with OP's trial, the investigation of this matter seems to have been found wanting. It remains to be seen if there is any evidence yet to present to prove the actual content of any of the texts to and from Dewani exists, which could seal the deal, but I doubt it. The one thing I find difficult in this matter is, it may be possible that someone is stupid enough to take (what is to poor SA's) a lot of money in cash with them to meet up with a virtual stranger who is arranging helicopter tours or whatever, even in SA.... but is there anyone in the world dumb enough to arrange a hit on his wife with a taxi driver that he just met in a country that he has never been to before?

Oh, and if anyone wants to know how cheap life really is in SA, watch the Reggie Yates series on BB3 in the UK, especially 'Knife Crime ER'.

This definitely seems plausible Brit.

 

[Britlaws]

It is a ransom kidnapping gone wrong?

Possibly. That would be a good reason for bundling him out the window first, but provided they had stripped him of any valuables, they would then be faced with him having to get money from elsewhere, risking involvement of others, inc police and further evidence. Tongo could have forced him to the nearest cash machine I guess but they would have had quite a haul there and then with Anni's jewellery and all. They arent stupid but perhaps not sophisticated enough for a ransom kidnap?

 

[Britlaws]

Re the testimonies of these guys - no-one tested the veracity of their accounts until now it seems. I didn't look at what happened at their own proceedings but I assume they were quick affairs? They have had 4 years to review the stories and of course a lot of the PT evidence has been in the media etc. so they could work out some errors. Yes you would expect some things to have been forgotten but key bits are now being changed, because they make no/little sense and some of it is just implausible - like Tongo letting his means of earning a living be driven off by hired killers to possibly never be seen again, like SD asking the first person he came across in SA to arrange to kill his wife....etc.

 

[Britlaws]

One last thing (lol). Assuming the pre planned robbery theory is true, one would then ask, if that were the case then why would Tongo plead a bargain to murder? Well, because it would be his word against the other two - who, if it had gone wrong and resulted in the killing, would likely have wanted him to go down for it too, on the basis that criminals regards themselves as all being in it together. If Tongo was found NG of murder, his family might have been subjected to revenge attack (this is SA). Also, robberies of that nature in SA go down with a firearm, and Tongo would have known that. Therefore his actions in arranging it would be into the D Eventualis (gahhhh!) territory, so he could still have got a hefty sentence.

 

[jslk]

I agree that something is seriously off with Tongo's account. I was thinking about his car/livelihood this morning, so it was odd when VZ went along that line of questioning! If his account is true, the car would be recovered by police as evidence, and perhaps never get it back. How would he then be able to capitalise on the new business SD was allegedly going to send his way?! It's all very very weird. I also don't buy that the method of killing was not discussed. And I don't understand why Tongo persists with his assertion that he thought Anni was a business associate and not SD's wife. I don't buy it at all.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Leigh-Anne Jansen ‏@LA_JANSEN 39m39 minutes ago

My daily tweet limit had been reached. Apologies for the delay. I'm back, Proceedings have been adjourned for lunch.

In a nutshell: VZ has told ZT that it was a calculated move on his part to engage the child lock function, to ensure the accused and his wife were locked inside.

Also, during evidence-in-chief, Tongo said there was no discussion of the couple going to Somerset West for dinner. And that it was his idea to go there. But, in his statement on November 26 2010, Tongo says SD told him to take them to dinner in Somerset West.

Tongo also says it was his idea to show them the nightlife in the location (township).

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Leigh-Anne Jansen ‏@LA_JANSEN 2m2 minutes ago

Proceedings resume


kevinjohnbrandt ‏@kevinjohnbrandt 2m2 minutes ago

Tongo, says he was surprised when Mngeni and Qwabe were not at the agreed spot....the first attempt at the "hijacking.


vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01 55s

Van Zyl: When they were not where they were supposed to be, why call Monde? Tongo: He was the one who put them in touch with me

 

[patCee]

SD's brother Preyen

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Leigh-Anne Jansen ‏@LA_JANSEN 46s47 seconds ago

Tongo: I contacted Monde to tell him the men did not show up, and asked if he knew anything.

VZ: Why not call Qwabe?

Tongo: Monde knew the men.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Leigh-Anne Jansen ‏@LA_JANSEN 53s54 seconds ago

Tongo: I did try to get in touch with Qwabe. I'm not sure if it was before or after I contacted Monde.

VZ: What did you discuss?

Tongo: I wanted to know why they didn't fulfill our agreement.

VZ: When was this, in Strand?

Tongo: I tried to get in touch with him, on my way to Strand. I think I was about to join the N2.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

kevinjohnbrandt ‏@kevinjohnbrandt@ANN7tv 2m2 minutes ago

Tongo, says he contacted Monde first....to hear where "the young men" were.....what happened to the plan