Accused tried to sell Anni's phone - witness
2012-09-03 13:08
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 14 November 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 13 November 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, at about 19:00, with the phone.
Bagged as evidence
"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, 15 November 2010, with the charger. She could pay him at the same time.
However, Mngeni arrived only on 18 November 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
