Speaking to TimesLIVE after the meeting, Dewani's family said it expected a decision on Friday morning on whether Tongo will be granted parole.
Dewani’s uncle Ashok Hindocha said: “We are getting a decision tomorrow at 10am.”
Department of correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed the meeting between Tongo and the Dewani family took place after family members flew in from Sweden to participate in the process.
Nxumalo said before an offender is considered for parole, victims must be given a chance to participate, by either meeting the perpetrator in person or in writing.
Nxumalo said after the victim participation process all the information goes onto the offender’s file and it will be for the parole board to assess whether the offender is suitable for parole.
Other information on file will include assessment reports complied on the offender by specialists including a social worker and a psychologist.
“The parole board is an independent structure. When it sits, it checks whether all reports have been submitted. This includes the victim participation statement.”
Nxumalo said inmates do not need to apply for parole as the process is activated when the inmate has served the prescribed minimum time as defined by legislation.
In the case of Tongo, he became eligible to be considered for parole in 2020, after serving half his sentence.
His parole, however, was withdrawn a day before he was due to walk free from the Malmesbury prison, 60km outside Cape Town.
The parole board had at the time decided he had ticked all the rehabilitation boxes but when news of this reached Anni’s family — the Hindochas — they protested to the media that justice would be served only if Tongo served his full 18-year sentence.
The family said it still had unanswered questions about Anni Dewani's death.
Parole process for Anni Dewani's killer Zola Tongo reaches final stages as he meets her family
Image: Shelley Christians
The parole process of Zola Tongo — the man found guilty of murdering Anni Dewani — is in its final stages.
Tongo, who pleaded guilty to the 2010 murder of Dewani and was sentenced to 18 years behind bars, on Thursday met Dewani's family and participated in a victim/offender dialogue (VOD).
Serving time for Anni Hindocha Dewani's murder
Speaking to TimesLIVE after the meeting, Dewani's family said it expected a decision on Friday morning on whether Tongo will be granted parole.
Dewani’s uncle Ashok Hindocha said: “We are getting a decision tomorrow at 10am.”
Department of correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed the meeting between Tongo and the Dewani family took place after family members flew in from Sweden to participate in the process.
Nxumalo said before an offender is considered for parole, victims must be given a chance to participate, by either meeting the perpetrator in person or in writing.
Nxumalo said after the victim participation process all the information goes onto the offender’s file and it will be for the parole board to assess whether the offender is suitable for parole.
Other information on file will include assessment reports complied on the offender by specialists including a social worker and a psychologist.
“The parole board is an independent structure. When it sits, it checks whether all reports have been submitted. This includes the victim participation statement.”
Nxumalo said inmates do not need to apply for parole as the process is activated when the inmate has served the prescribed minimum time as defined by legislation.
In the case of Tongo, he became eligible to be considered for parole in 2020, after serving half his sentence.
His parole, however, was withdrawn a day before he was due to walk free from the Malmesbury prison, 60km outside Cape Town.
The parole board had at the time decided he had ticked all the rehabilitation boxes but when news of this reached Anni’s family — the Hindochas — they protested to the media that justice would be served only if Tongo served his full 18-year sentence.
The family said it still had unanswered questions about Anni Dewani's death.
Anni Dewani's father lashes SA over claim that honeymoon killer Zola Tongo is heading for freedom
Dewani was a Swedish woman who was murdered while on her honeymoon in SA after the taxi in which she and her husband were travelling was hijacked.
Her body was found with a bullet wound to the neck in Tongo’s abandoned car in Khayelitsha on the morning of November 14 2010.
In his confession, Tongo said Dewani's new husband, Shrien, had given him R15,000 to find hitmen to kill her.
'No credible evidence' against Dewani: court hears
Tongo, who was sentenced shortly after the murder, said he hired Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe to carry out the hit.
Both men received lengthy jail sentences. Mngeni has since died.
Shrien Dewani was extradited and stood trial for murder in the high court in Cape Town in 2014, but he was discharged because of a lack of evidence.
— Additional reporting by Philani Nombembe
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