Thieves make off with memorial to Anni Dewani
Zara Nicholson
THE memorial to murdered bride Anni Dewani in Khayelitsha has been stolen.
Her father Vinod Hindocha, of Sweden, said actress Andrea Dondolo, who lives next door to the plot where his daughter’s body was found and where the memorial was erected, had informed his family it had been stolen about three weeks ago.
Anni’s parents, siblings, relatives and friends erected the memorial, which had pictures and cards on it, at an emotional gathering three months ago.
Hindocha said yesterday he was “not angry at all” about the theft.
He said: “We feel that someone needed Anni’s pictures more than we did; someone who believed in her. Someone really wanted her to be with them. We are not angry at all. We did what we wanted to do and we are happy with how it looked when we left.”
He said the family would wait for the outcome of the trial into her murder before deciding on a permanent memorial.
“We are planning and thinking of something. We haven’t decided yet, but we might do a statue on the same spot,” Hindocha said.
Asked how the family was coping seven months after their daughter’s murder, he said: “We miss her more every day. It’s still very hard and really difficult. We just want answers from (her widower Shrien) Dewani and we hope we get them.”
Accused of orchestrating her murder, Dewani is fighting extradition from Britain to stand trial in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, the medical condition of one of two men allegedly contracted to kill Anni is set to be revealed in court next week.
Xolile Mngeni, 23, failed to appear in the Wynberg Regional Court on Thursday. The court was told he was seriously ill and had been admitted to hospital two weeks ago.
The National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Correctional Services have been tight-lipped as to what Mngeni was being treated for at Groote Schuur Hospital.
It has been reported he has a brain tumour, but Mngeni’s attorney Vusi Tshabalala said he could not confirm why his client was in hospital or whether he had undergone surgery.
“We don’t know when he will be discharged yet and he is expected to be in court on Monday, but we don’t know whether he will be able to appear. We are waiting for the medical report to inform us on how long he will be in hospital,” Tshabalala said.
He said he could only give details of Mngeni’s medical condition if Mngeni consented to making the details public.
NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said: “We will be guided by the medical report, which we are still waiting for, then decide whether to postpone or continue with the case next week. We hope to have the report before his next court appearance on Monday.”
Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe are accused of murdering Anni, who was hijacked with her husband Shrien in Gugulethu while they were on honeymoon in November.
Anni’s body was found in Khayelitsha with a bullet wound to her neck.
Chauffeur Zola Robert Tongo admitted his role in the murder and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
He testified that Shrien had orchestrated his bride’s murder, offering him R15 000 to arrange the killing.
Dewani’s extradition hearing is set to continue in the Belmarsh Magistrate’s Court in London on July 18.
He is being detained at a psychiatric facility after a reported suicide attempt in February.