[ 2014-12-08 ]

Dewani murder case thrown out by South African judge
Shrien Dewani, the Bristol millionaire accused of
murdering his wife on their honeymoon four years
ago, was today cleared by a South African court of
ordering her killing.

He was set free for the first time in four years
as his dead wife’s family wept on the steps of
Cape Town’s high court, saying that they were
“deeply disappointed” that the justice system
had “failed” them and that they had more
“unanswered questions” than at the start of
his murder trial.

“Today we feel really, really sad because we
never heard the full story of Shrien,” Ami
Denborg, Mrs Dewani’s elder sister, said as
their brother wept bitterly beside her. “We just
wish Shrien had been honest with us and especially
with Anni.”

Asked if he felt he had been let down, Vinod
Hindocha, her father, shouted “Yes! Yes!” from
the back of the taxi as he left the court.

Accused of hiring hitmen to shoot dead Anni Dewani
and frame it as a hijacking just two weeks after
their £200,000 Bollywood-style wedding in Mumbai,
Mr Dewani stood and listened to the judge tear
apart the three witnesses who had pointed to him
as the mastermind.

They were “self-confessed liars”, their
accounts of events “highly improbable” and
full of “material contradictions and
inconsistencies”, Judge Jeanette Traverso said.
Mr Dewani stared straight at her as she spoke, in
stark contrast to his usual expressive manner. As
the direction of her judgment became clear, the
tension left his face.

As the judge delivered her verdict dismissing the
case against him and left the courtroom, the
Dewani family hugged and smiled, while the
Hindochas swiftly walked out.

The lead policeman in the case, Captain Paul
Hendrickse, left the court in tears.

Nathi Mncube, of the National Prosecution
Authority, said that the judge never actually said
Mr Dewani was innocent, adding that there were
many questions still to be answered on the basis
of the evidence the court had heard.

“Today we feel as a family that the justice
system has failed us. We are deeply
disappointed,” Mrs Denborg said. “We came here
looking for answers and we came here looking for
the truth, and all we got was more questions.

“We waited patiently for four years to hear what
really happened to Anni and the full story of what
really happened to our dearest little sister.

“All we wanted was all the events and our hope
of actually finding that out kept us as a family
going. Unfortunately we believe that this right
has now been taken away from us.”

Source - The Times(UK)

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