Cape Town - Zola Tongo, one of Anni Dewani’s killers, is searching for a fresh start away from the prying eyes of the media.
Tongo, who was released on parole last week, said: “This is a fair chance I am getting, if it goes well then I can rebuild myself. I need a moment, I need my space.”
The former taxi driver was sentenced to 18 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the 2010 murder and was released on parole on June 21.
Dewani, from Sweden, had been on her honeymoon in Cape Town, with her husband, Shrien Dewani.
Hijackers Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni, and hotel receptionist Monde Mbolombo also admitted to their involvement in an unintentionally fatal robbery and kidnapping.
Qwabe and Mbolombo later claimed the murder had been premeditated and that they were hired by Shrien.
Tongo’s parole expires on June 6, 2028.
The Weekend Argus team visited Tongo yesterday at his home in Mfuleni but he declined to do a full-blown interview.
A visibly angry Tongo, 42, said the media had never given him a fair opportunity to speak during the much publicised and sensational trial and asked why they had bothered now after nearly 12 years.
He added he had recently searched the internet, viewing all of the media reports on him and just wanted to get his life back on track with the second chance he was given and was not going to waste it.
Dressed in a sporty grey tracksuit with Nike sneakers, Tongo appeared buffed and toned while sitting on the couch and his head cleanly-shaven.
“Stop right there, I am not going to say anything, I don’t want anything,” Tonga said and later began speaking about his views of the media’s perception of offenders while soft gospel music played in the background.
“It is okay, there is nothing to change, I won’t entertain it, you are not the first group that came. I know it won’t be the last (media) that comes here now.
“Because when everyone was on top of me then, why didn’t they come to me then, and say we want to talk with you, and now after 11 and half years inside prison, everyone seems interested.
“Whatever they wrote back then, I did check it on the internet, it’s fine, keep it like that.
“I was released last week. So, this is my thing, not to say I am disrespecting anyone, I am trying to build my life now.
“That time the media wrote all of these things but now they are so keen to write what is good, they couldn’t defend me at that time.
“It is not about me but all offenders, whatever crime that they committed, thinking of it the other way around.
“Not just as me as an individual, you only write the one side, so why don’t you get close to that person during that time (during the trial) and the opposite thing about it (the other side of the story).
“A friend of mine that is a publisher, also tried (for a book). But I still have a lot on my mind, it's not easy, so let them talk, let them write, it is okay,” he said.
A relative of Tongo’s, who declined to be named, said he was still the loving and caring person he always was. “His grandmother is 86 and she said she just wants him to come home and for God to bring him home.
“Some of our family members visited him last week after he came home and he is still the calm guy he always was.”
A community leader in Mfuleni, who is not to be named publicly for safety reasons, said they welcomed Tonga back into the community.
A copy of the parole board’s findings was leaked to the media earlier this year.
The content suggests that Tongo had presented good behaviour and participated in rehabilitation programmes and that the victim participation was included during the hearing.
Tongo’s conditions for parole include that he be under high-risk supervision for 12 months and to be monitored closely and to seek employment and receive social worker and psychological support and is prohibited from using drugs and alcohol and is to refrain from threatening or intimidating people.
Tongo was viewed as the prosecution’s key witness during the trial, admitting he had recruited two men to stage a hijacking in Guguletu at Shrien’s request, who he claimed had offered him money.
Tongo received 18 years while Qwabe was sentenced to 25 years and Mngeni was slapped with a life sentence, while Mbolombo had gained immunity after exchanging vital information.
Shrien had been extradited from the UK to South Africa to face trial but was acquitted by the Western Cape High Court in December 2014.
Anni’s uncle, Ashok Hindocha told IOL in March that the decision to release Tonga was a shame to the South African justice system.
Weekend Argus also approached Hindocha this week for comment on Tonga’s release but he did not respond.