Court hears about Anni’s phone

Cape Town-120827-Mziwamadoda Qwabe testified today in the "Dewani Trial" of co-accused, Xolile Mngeni (in pic with brown strip top) at the High Court today. Present in the galarie was Annie's father Vinod Hindocha with her cousin Nishma Hindocha-Reporter-Jade-Photographer-Tracey Adams

Cape Town-120827-Mziwamadoda Qwabe testified today in the "Dewani Trial" of co-accused, Xolile Mngeni (in pic with brown strip top) at the High Court today. Present in the galarie was Annie's father Vinod Hindocha with her cousin Nishma Hindocha-Reporter-Jade-Photographer-Tracey Adams

Published Sep 3, 2012

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Cape Town - A phone believed to belong to honeymooner Anni Dewani was found in Khayelitsha days after she was killed, the Western Cape High Court heard on Monday.

A school teacher on the stand, who may not be identified, said she was approached by Xolile Mngeni on November 14, 2010, and asked if she wanted to buy a Blackberry cellphone.

Mngeni has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder, and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Dewani was killed in an apparent hijacking in Cape Town on November 13, 2010, while on honeymoon with her husband Shrien. She was robbed of her possessions.

The teacher, 44, said she had been on her way to church that morning when Mngeni, who she had known for three years at the time, stopped at her at a taxi rank.

“I met a guy named Watti (Mngeni's nickname) .... Watti told me he had got a phone which he is selling... for an amount of R500,” she said.

She told him she did not have money on her, but that she was going to Century City and could meet him later in the day.

He came to her home the same day, around 7pm, with the phone.

“I asked him: why are you selling this phone of yours to me for R500? He said: Mama, I've got a problem. In December, I'm going to circumcision school. I've bought everything, but I'm short of clothing which amounts to R500.”

The court heard that the phone was off when it was handed to the witness. It did not have a charger or a sim card.

“It was new and it was all right. Okay. It was a phone that looked neat and was not faulty,” the witness said.

Mngeni apparently told her he would return the next day, November 15, 2010, with the charger. She could pay him at the same time.

However, Mngeni arrived only on November 18 and was accompanied by the police. She handed over the phone and it was bagged as evidence.

The witness was asked if the phone in court was the one she had handed over.

She took a good look at it and then said: “It looked like this one”.

The trial continues. - Sapa

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