'At least they didn't abuse Anni'

Vinod Hindocha, Anni Dewani's father, said yesterday he was relieved that her assailants did not "abuse" her before she died.

Hindocha is attending the trial of Xolile Mngeni - the man accused of pulling the trigger on honeymoon bride Anni - in the Cape Town High Court.

He said he had travelled from Sweden to ensure that Anni gets the "justice she deserves".

On Monday, convicted murderer Mzwamadoda Qwabe, who turned state witness, gave a chilling account of Anni's last moments. He asked her family for forgiveness.

"On the first day we heard the accused and . the whole story. It was very difficult to digest that,' said Hindocha, "But at the same time, one glimpse of happiness was that he never said at any point that my daughter was abused."

Qwabe revealed that Mngeni had shot Anni.

Anni's husband, British businessman Shrien Dewani, is alleged to have orchestrated the "hijacking" while they were on honeymoon in Cape Town in November 2010.

Mngeni and Qwabe were arrested after shuttle operator Zola Tongo - who also turned state witness - implicated them and confessed that Dewani had offered him R15000 for hitmen to kill Anni.

Tongo is serving an 18-year jail sentence and Qwabe has been sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment.

When cross-examined by defence counsel Qalisile Dayimani, Qwabe said he had assumed that Mngeni could use a firearm when he had handed it to him on the night of the hijacking.

He had bought the gun a month before Anni's murder, he said. Mngeni has pleaded not guilty.

Dewani is being treated for severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in a psychiatric hospital in the UK.

Prosecutors want him extradited. The trial continues.