A taxi driver who killed honeymoon bride Anni Dewani has had his parole blocked a day before he was due to walk free.
Zola Tongo, convicted of organising the 2010 murder, had already packed his bags and said his goodbyes to his pals in prison, but his early release was scrapped after Anni's dad and uncle confronted him at the jail.
Anni's father said he showed Tongo a photo of Anni, and the killer didn't know who she was and "put up an act and started crying".
The taxi driver and two other men - who claimed British millionaire care home boss Shrien Dewani had arranged a hit on his wife - were found guilty of Anni's murder in South Africa.
At a trial in 2014, Shrien, now 40, was acquitted of arranging the murder of 28-year-old Anni in Cape Town, just days after the wedding, as a judge said the evidence against him was insufficient and “riddled with contradictions”.
Tongo's parole was withdrawn a day before he was due to walk free for good behaviour after serving half of his 18-year sentence, TimesLive reported.
The 39-year-old was due to be freed from Malmesbury prison on July 28, but on July 27 he was told he would remain behind bars and his parole was being reviewed.
His release was halted after he was grilled by Anni's father and uncle, who say he has shown no remorse and want him to serve the full 18 years.
Anni's father told the newspaper that Tongo is playing "nice" in prison and "fooling the system" to get an early release, adding: “This man should be behind bars, he is dangerous to society. He doesn’t deserve to be outside.
“We had an opportunity to address him directly and I showed him my daughter’s picture on my mobile phone and asked him, ‘Did you know who this girl was?’ He said, 'No'. I said, ‘This is my daughter Anni'.
“Then he put up an act and started crying. He is a good actor anyway, he has managed to fool the parole board. This is a disgrace to the country, a disgrace to the justice system. I have no words.”
A source, who met with Tongo in prison this week, told TimesLive that the killer had already packed his bags and said goodbye to his friends in prison, but was told he would remain behind bars for now.
Shrien, from Bristol, and Anni, from Sweden, got married in a traditional Hindu ceremony in Mumbai and flew to Cape Town for their honeymoon.
They had been in South Africa for almost a week when she was killed as they toured suburban Cape Town in a taxi in November 2010.
Shrien claimed the vehicle was hijacked and he was forced out after being robbed.
The businessman, who was extradited to face trial, claimed the taxi drove off with his wife still inside.
She was found dead from a gunshot wound to the neck in Tongo's abandoned taxi the following morning.
Tongo claimed Shrien gave him 15,000 rand (about £675 in today's currency) to find hitmen to kill Anni.
The taxi driver said he hired gunmen Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe to carry out the hit.
Mngeni, who has since died, and Qwabe were both jailed.
Shrien, who has always denied plotting to murder his new bride and didn't give evidence at his trial, was acquitted by a judge in South Africa in December 2014 after she blasted the prosecution's evidence as unreliable.
In 2016, he wrote a letter to a London coroner claiming the three convicted men had lied and he was the victim of an attempt to frame him.
He wrote: "It is the evidence of these proven liars that led to a witch hunt against me and the resulting failure to pursue the truth of what happened that night.
"It is clear that none of the evidence provided by these persons was corroborated in any meaningful way."
He added: "[The] extent of my knowledge of the events leading up to Anni's murder has already been set out in a detailed publicly available plea. This document was read out in court at the start of my trial."
