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(NEWS 24) Dewani suspects claim cop torture

Dewani suspects claim cop torture
2011-02-18 22:25

Cape Town - Two suspects implicated in the murder of Anni Dewani claim that he was beaten up by police and told what to say, their lawyers have told British newspapers. The Swedish woman’s husband, Shrien Dewani, has been accused by Mziwamadoda Qwabe, Zola Tongo and Xolile Mngeni of plotting her murder.

Tongo, who was the taxi driver for the couple who were in Cape Town for their honeymoon in November, entered into a plea deal with the State for his part in the murder plot.

In return for a lesser sentence, Tongo gave a statement to the police stating that Shrien Dewani plotted his wife’s murder. Tongo claimed that he hired Mngeni and Qwabe to take Anni Dewani out.

In January, Qwabe confessed to having taken part in a “staged hijacking”.

‘Beaten into confessing’

But now Qwabe’s lawyer, Thabo Nogemane, has claimed that detectives “suggested” to him what statement he should make.

Nogemane told the Daily Mail in the UK that after being arrested, his client was first assaulted by detectives then instructed on what to say in his “confession”.

Qwabe’s disputed “confession” is understood to be one of the main pieces of evidence linking Dewani to the murder of his wife.

Nogemane, told Britain’s The Guardian: "I am instructed that some unknown police officer assaulted him by means of a big torch. He was hit all over his body. The police in South Africa only hit in such a way that there are no marks, no evidence.

"He said the statement was a suggestion put to him by the police. They already had the allegations so they told him: 'Just sign here'. I wouldn't refer to it as a confession, just a statement."

Nogemane claimed Qwabe had an alibi. "They [the police] were under pressure; they had to act quickly and get information. They arrested the wrong people."

‘Suffocated, punched’

Vusi Tshabalala, Mngeni's lawyer, told the Guardian that his client had also been abused: "In the process of interrogating him, police would physically assault him with fists and use a plastic bag to suffocate him. He was frightened. He was angry."

Tshabalala believes the police used "irregular methods" because they were under pressure to solve such a high-profile crime.

Dewani, 31, is set to appear in a British court in May for his next extradition hearing.

He insists that he is innocent and should he return to South Africa, will receive an unfair trial.

His claim is given weight by the fact that South African police boss General Bheki Cele called Dewani a “monkey” who “came all the way from London to murder his wife here”.

Dewani has missed his last two extradition hearings in London, claiming that the stress has made him too ill to pitch up in court.

- News24

Labels: POLICE BRUTALITY

posted by MrK @ 8:32 PM