A man who was accused of
ordering hit-men to murder his wife during their honeymoon in South Africa 4
years ago has finally walked free.
Despite the hit men confessing to the crime
after revealing he told them to murder his fiancée, Shrien Dewani was today shocked
by many when he was cleared of any part in the honeymoon murder of his new
bride Anni after a judge threw out the case against him.
As the sensational verdict
was handed down, Dewani's parents both burst into tears, while his brother
Preyen allowed himself a small smile.
Three men have already been
convicted of their role in the death, after the taxi the Dewanis were
travelling in was hijacked as they passed through a township late at night.
Dewani has always denied
any involvement in the plot. But
prosecutors say bisexual Dewani wanted out of the relationship and plotted for
his engineer wife, 28, to be killed in an apparent botched hijacking.He was accused
of recruiting a taxi driver, Zola Tongo to stage a fake carjacking as a cover
for her murder, with the help of two assassins.
South African Judge
Traverso tore into the testimony from the state's key witness, Dewani's taxi
driver Zola Tongo, saying it was 'riddled with contradictions'.Tongo, who was
previously convicted of his part in the killing, entered a plea bargain with
the State to testify against Dewani.
The judge also highlighted
that two hitmen also convicted of the murder 'contradict Mr Tongo on just about
every aspect of their interaction'.
Judge Jeanette Traverso
said the prosecution had 'fallen far below' the level needed to secure a
conviction and attacked the state's chief witness for giving testimony of such
'poor quality' she did not know where the 'lies end and truth begins'.
Outside the courtroom, her
uncle Ashok also spoke of their dismay, saying they had been denied the full
story and would suffer 'sleepless nights for the rest of our lives'.
He told MailOnline:
'The decision to end the
trial without the defendant offering a defence, means we, and the good people
of South Africa, the UK and various parts of the world who have followed the
case, will always live without ever knowing the complete events that led up to
Anni's death.'
Dewani showed little
reaction in the dock as the verdict was delivered, bringing to an end his
four-year ordeal in which he was accused of orchestrating a plot to murder his
wife on their honeymoon in Cape Town.
Lawyers say he could now
sue the South African authorities for attempting to use his sexuality as a
'motive' for wanting his wife killed as a 'way out' of the marriage.
TIMELINE OF THE HONEYMOON KILLING
2010
November 12: Newlyweds
Shrien and Anni Dewani arrive in Cape Town, picked up at the airport by Zola
Tongo
November 13: Honeymooners
Shrien and Anni Dewani's taxi is ambushed as they take a night-time tour of
Gugulethu, a township outside Cape Town
Dewani is allowed to go
free, but his wife of two weeks is driven off and murdered. Her body is found
the next morning in the back of the abandoned vehicle, with a fatal gunshot
wound to her neck.
November 16: Dewani leaves
South Africa with his wife's remains. One of the hitmen Xolile Mngeni is
arrested by police.
November 17: Mngeni is
charged with the hijacking and murder.
November 18: A second
assassin Mzwamadoda Qwabe is arrested.
November 20: Police arrest
the newlyweds' taxi driver Zola Tongo. Anni Dewani's funeral is held in London.
December 7: Tongo is jailed
for 18 years following a plea agreement with the prosecuting authorities in
which he implicates Dewani.
Dewani is arrested in
Bristol on suspicion of conspiring to murder his wife, after South African
authorities issue a warrant
August 10: District Judge
Howard Riddle rules that Dewani can be extradited to South Africa to stand
trial.
September 20: Wynberg
Regional Court in South Africa hears claims that Dewani approached an airport
shuttle service operator and sought a hitman to murder his wife almost
immediately after the couple arrived at a five-star hotel in Cape Town.
August 8: Qwabe pleads
guilty to charges of kidnapping, robbery, murder and illegal possession of a
firearm, in relation to Mrs Dewani's murder. He is jailed for 25 years
November 19: After changing
his guilty plea to not guilty and facing a full trial, Mngeni is found guilty
of premeditated murder in Cape Town. Mrs Dewani's family attends the hearing.
December 5: Mngeni is
jailed for life for the murder of Mrs Dewani.
2013
2014
October 6: On the first day
of his trial, Shrien Dewani denies all five charges against him, including
murder and kidnapping.
But in a plea statement, he
admits that he is a bisexual who has paid for sex with men, including the gay
bondage specialist The German Master, who told a newspaper Mr Dewani told him
he 'needed to find a way out' of his marriage.
October 14: Judge Jeanette
Traverso rules that all evidence about Dewani's sexuality is inadmissible. The
state's case was that his secret gay life was a motive to want to be rid of his
wife.
October 28: Taxi driver
Zola Tongo tells the trial how Dewani offered him money to arrange his wife's
murder.
November 17: The state
closes its case, prompting Dewani's lawyers to announce they will apply for the
charges against him to be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Culled from Mailonline
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