Bristol Evening Post/AP
The sentenced in the killing of Anni Dewani (right) said her husband, Shrien (left) offered more than $2,000 to have her killed during the couple’s honeymoon in South Africa in November. 
AP/Str
Zola Tongo, a taxi driver in Cape Town, claimed as part of a plea bargain in court that he had met the Dewanis during a trip from the airport to their hotel. Zola Tongo, a taxi driver who was convicted of killing Anni Dewani, 28, in Cape Town, South Africa, in November said the woman's husband, Shrien Dewani, offered him more than $2,000 to carry out the grisly hit on his beautiful young bride.
Tongo's claims were made as part of a plea bargain agreement with the state, BBC reported.
A publicist hired by Shrien Dewani dismissed Tongo's story.
"Coming from a taxi driver who admitted to playing a part in murdering his wife, I think it should be treated with the contempt it deserves," Max Clifford told Sky News. "Let's see what evidence there is to back up these accusations.”
Clifford said that authorities had not contacted his client, and South African authorities would not confirm that they were considering Dewani a suspect in his wife's murder, according to The Associated Press.
Anni Dewani was shot dead on Nov. 13 during what her husband said was a carjacking and kidnapping as the couple took an evening tour of a dangerous neighborhood in Cape Town normally considered off limits for tourists.
Dewani was kicked out of the car during the attack, but said the thugs had sped off with his new bride still in the car.
She was found the next morning in an abandoned taxi with a gunshot wound to the back of the neck. The couple had married in India two weeks before arriving in South Africa.
Prosecutor Rodney de Kock said the Dewanis met Tongo the day before the murder when Tongo drove the couple from the airport to their honeymoon hotel.
De Kock said that Dewani waited until his wife was out of earshot and then offered Tongo more than $2,000 to hire some thugs to kill his wife.
Tongo did not offer a possible motive for the killing.
Violent crime is high in South Africa, but attacks on foreign tourists are considered rare.
Sources close to Shrien Dewani said South African investigators were being pressured to pin the murder on someone other than a South African, and that the dashing millionaire businessman made the perfect patsy, The Daily Mail reported.
Dewani's family described the allegations as "totally ludicrous," BBC reported.
Mthunzi Mhaga, spokesman for South Africa's national prosecuting office, told The Associated Press Tuesday that a bid to request Shrien Dewani's extradition is "a matter that is likely to be considered" as part of continuing investigations.
Anni Dewani's father, Vinod Hindocha, clutching photos of his daughter, wept at the court hearing and thanks South Africans police.
"We are very, very confident about the police investigation," Hindocha said.
With Wire News Services
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