Killer in the honeymoon murder trial dies

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The man convicted for
the murder of a woman killed on honeymoon in
Cape Town has died, announced South Africa's
Department of Correctional Services.
Xolile Mngeni, who was convicted for the
murder in 2010 of Anni Dewani, died in a
hospital unit of a Cape Town prison.
South African prosecutors argue that the
woman's husband, Shrien Dewani, conspired
with Mngeni and two other men to kill his wife.
Dewani, who has pleaded not guilty to charges
ranging from murder to kidnapping, said he and
his wife were hijacked at gunpoint while on a
nighttime drive through a Cape Town township.
Dewani said he was forced out of the car and
the alleged assailants drove off with his wife
still in the backseat of the car. The car and the
body of Anni Dewani were found the next day.
Mngeni, who was convicted as the man who
fired the gun that killed the 28-year-old
Swedish national, was serving a life sentence
when he died. Mngeni was diagnosed with a
brain tumor during his murder trial in 2011.
The Cape Town local applied for medical parole
in July this year but it was denied.
Earlier this month, another man convicted for
the murder, Mziwamadoda Qwabe testified that
he was hired by the Dewani's taxi driver, Zola
Tongo, to kill Anni Dewani. Qwabe and Tongo
are currently serving long prison theories for
the killing.
Dewani is standing trial in South Africa after
fighting extradition from the United Kingdom
for nearly four years.
Mngeni has been a figure during the ongoing
trial.