In this file photo taken Friday, Feb 10, 2012, South African Mziwamadoda Qwabe sits in the dock at court in Cape Town, South Africa. One of two South African men accused of being hired by a British newlywed to kill his Swedish bride pleaded guilty today to his involvement in the slaying, a prosecution spokesman said. Mziwamadoda Qwabe pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbery, murder and illegal possession of a firearm over the November 2010 killing of Anni Dewani, whose body was found in an abandoned taxi in Cape Town’s impoverished Gugulethu township, said Eric Ntabazalila, a spokesman for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam-File)JON GAMBRELL
JOHANNESBURG (AP) – One of two South African men accused of being hired by a British newlywed to kill his Swedish bride pleaded guilty Wednesday to his involvement in the slaying, a prosecution spokesman said. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a court official said.
Mziwamadoda Qwabe pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbery, murder and illegal possession of a firearm over the November 2010 killing of Anni Dewani, whose body was found in an abandoned taxi in Cape Town’s impoverished Gugulethu township, said Eric Ntabazalila, a spokesman for South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority.
It was not immediately clear what the plea deal with prosecutors involved. Ntabazalila declined to immediately offer other details of the deal, struck as both Qwabe and accused accomplice Xolile Mngeni faced a pretrial hearing Wednesday in Cape Town.
A lawyer for Qwabe could not be immediately reached for comment.