Shrien and Anni Dewani married in Mumbai in India in October 2010, two weeks before her death
The
case against Shrien Dewani, the British businessman accused of plotting
the murder of his Swedish bride on their South African honeymoon, has
been dismissed by a judge in Cape Town.
It was supposed to be the dream wedding. Millionaire Shrien
Dewani married Anni in a lavish ceremony in Mumbai. And to follow the
dream wedding was the dream honeymoon.
But Cape Town would turn out to be their worst nightmare.
The events of 13 November 2010 would end with Anni dead after
being shot in the neck in the back of a taxi and Shrien's life turned
upside down.
But the wheels of what happened that night were put in motion
days before. Zolo Tonga, a taxi driver who operated an airport shuttle
service, picked up the pair and took them to the Cape Grace hotel.
On the way, he offered to act as their tour guide and show
them around. It was an offer that Mr Dewani would take up with fatal
consequences.
During the subsequent trial, the short marriage between the Dewanis would come under the microscope.
Shrien Dewani continuously denied arranging the murder of his wife while on honeymoon
The court case revealed that Mr Dewani was bisexual and had been seeing a German male prostitute before his marriage.
But intimate messages between the married couple were also laid bare in court.
As both pulled up at the Cape Grace hotel they were a picture
of happiness, but behind the scenes there was tension, as well as love.
In one sequence of messages, the couple appeared to engage in
coded sexual conversation using Blackberry Messenger, referring to each
other's genitals as Fred and Wilma.
But in other messages Mrs Dewani accused her husband of
wanting to get out of the marriage. Mr Dewani replies: "I love you. You
know that."
Shrien and Anni's text messages
4 November: Anni says to Shrien "Thinking of
Fred" before telling him she's "eating at Nando's, mmmm". The pair also
discuss buying a bed from a shop at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol.
But, later in the day, the pair argue on email with Anni
saying "You did say if u saw in chrystal (sic) ball how this marriage
would been like then you wouldn't got married".
Shrien replies in the early hours of the next morning that he "did NOT say I regret things".
5 November: Anni says she "can't even sleep at nights" and asks "seriously do you want me to leave you?"
She then says: "I don't want an insecure man or a man that
feelings doesn't come natural that you have to force yourself." She adds
"I am ready to pack and leave and this is not a joke".
Anni tells Shrien he "can't keep any surprise" after finding out their honeymoon will be in South Africa.
It is this tension in the relationship that, the South African
authorities argued, led Mr Dewani to seek a hitman in Cape Town - and
for someone to release him from a marriage he did not want to be part
of.
They argued that Mr Dewani conspired with three men - shuttle
taxi driver Zola Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni - to have
Mrs Dewani killed.
Soon after their final meal together on 13 November 2010,
prosecutors argued that Mr Dewani had arranged for the taxi he and his
wife were travelling in to be hijacked.
The businessman was released unharmed but Mrs Dewani was driven away before being shot dead, the court heard.
The murder of a beautiful young bride on her honeymoon made headlines around the world.
But the killing remained mired in confusion.
The body of Anni Dewani was found on the back seat of a car in Khayelitsha on 14 November 2010
Mr Dewani swiftly returned to the UK and began receiving
medical help for an acute stress disorder, spending his days sitting in a
camper van outside a Bristol hospital.
But in South Africa, taxi driver Tongo made a sensational
claim. He told a court he had been paid 15,000 rand by Mr Dewani to kill
Anni. Exchange rates at the time showed that equated to just £1,000.
It sparked a four-year extradition battle and pleas from Mrs
Dewani's family for Mr Dewani to return to Cape Town to give "answers"
about what happened.
Mrs Dewani's sister, Ami Denborg, said her death and the legal battle had been "devastating" for them.
Profile: Shrien Dewani
- Shrien Dewani was a respected businessman who was a wealthy care home owner in Bristol, England
- He seemed to have it all: a supportive family, a top education
and a successful business giving him the means to provide for his loved
ones
- Mr Dewani was privately educated at Bristol Grammar School,
which boasts a 500-year history and costs more than £11,000 per year
- He read economics at the University of Manchester and qualified as an accountant
- Following university he began work at accountancy and
consultancy giant Deloitte in London when he met his future wife, Anni, a
Swedish national, through mutual friends
The legal battle culminated in Mr Dewani being flown to
Cape Town in October to face the world's media in Western Cape High
Court.
It soon became clear the prosecution's case was full of holes and it was not a surprise when it fell apart.
Tongo was described as a "completely unreliable witness" who
contradicted others who gave evidence and whose explanations were
"laughable".
His evidence was crucial to the prosecution's case. He was
the only person to speak to both Mr Dewani and the people who carried
out the murder.
Mrs Dewani's family said only Mr Dewani had "answers" for them
Mr Dewani was arrested in 2010 before a drawn-out extradition process
Defence lawyer Francois van Zyl summed up the importance of the
driver's evidence, saying he was the "pillar on which this case rests
and if that pillar falls then the whole case collapses".
And, it transpired, that is what happened.
In fact, the newly-weds were innocent victims of South Africa's violent criminality.
During the hijacking, cash which Mr Dewani said was for a helicopter ride was taken, as was his watch and other items.
According to the country's statistics, 700 people were
murdered in Gugulethu township in the five years before Mrs Dewani's
death.
She has joined that number and the death toll continues to
rise. But unlike most, her death has been lived out in the full glare of
the media.
The murder conspirators
- Zola Tongo was the couple's taxi driver who
recruited Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni to murder Anni Dewani. He
was jailed for 18 years following a plea bargain
- Mziwamadoda Qwabe was jailed for 25 years for his part in killing Mrs Dewani during the staged hijacking
- Xolile Mngeni was convicted of firing the shot which killed Mrs Dewani and was branded an "evil person" by the judge who sentenced him to life in prison.
He had been diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, which was removed in
2011 and his trial was repeatedly delayed while he had surgery. In
October Mngeni died in prison
Zola Tongo is serving an 18-year jail term for conspiring with two others to murder Anni Dewani
Mziwamadoda Qwabe was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of Anni Dewani
Xolile Mngeni died of a brain tumour in a prison in Cape Town
