Close X
Monday, September 23, 2024
ADVT 
International

Freed Of Murder Charge, British-indian Businessman Shrien Dewani To Return Home

IANS, 09 Dec, 2014 12:48 PM
    An Indian-origin businessman from Britain, Shrien Dewani is preparing to leave South Africa after a judge cleared him of arranging the murder of his wife on their honeymoon, media reported Tuesday.
     
    Dewani, 33, was accused of ordering the murder of his wife, 28-year-old Anni Dewani, who was shot on the outskirts of Cape Town in November 2010 during the course of their honeymoon, BBC reported.
     
    On Monday, Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso of the Western Cape High Court dismissed the case against him, after describing evidence from prosecution witnesses as "riddled with contradictions".
     
    Anni's family said they were heartbroken that the case was dismissed before Dewani testified.
     
    "We feel as a family that the justice system has failed us and we are deeply disappointed," Anni's sister Ami Denborg said.
     
    "We came here looking for answers and we came here looking for the truth, and all we got was more questions."
     
    "We would have preferred to have known about his secret sex life with male prostitutes and the activities he engaged in before he married Anni," Denborg said referring to Dewani's admission in court that he was bi-sexual.
     
    Judge Traverso said claims by the chief prosecution witness, cab driver Zola Tongo, about the murder were "riddled with contradictions", "highly debatable" and the evidence from the prosecution was "far below" the required threshold.
     
    Three men - Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and gunman Xolile Mngeni - have already been convicted for their part in the murder, which happened during a late-night tour of a township when their chauffeur-driven car was hijacked.
     
    Dewani was in South Africa as he was extradited from Britain in April to stand trial for Anni's murder.
     
    He faced five counts, including kidnapping, murder, and defeating the ends of justice, and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.
     
    He has maintained that he and his wife were the victims of a hijacking Nov 13, 2010.
     
    Dewani was thrown out of the car later that night and Anni's body was found the next day with a single gun shot wound on her neck.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    The world is watching Canada and EU iron out trade-deal kinks: WTO head

    The world is watching Canada and EU iron out trade-deal kinks: WTO head
    TORONTO - The director of the influential World Trade Organization says nations around the planet are keeping a close eye on how Canada and the European Union overcome the stumbling blocks of their ambitious trade agreement.

    The world is watching Canada and EU iron out trade-deal kinks: WTO head

    Is the Nobel peace prize a message for terrorists, hardliners?

    Is the Nobel peace prize a message for terrorists, hardliners?
    As the world feted India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousufzai on winning the Nobel peace prize, some analysts called it a message to terrorists while....

    Is the Nobel peace prize a message for terrorists, hardliners?

    Pakistan rally demands jihad against India

    Pakistan rally demands jihad against India
    A rally organised by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) condemned the firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and called upon the Pakistani government to declare.....

    Pakistan rally demands jihad against India

    Malala 'really happy' to share Nobel prize with an Indian

    Malala 'really happy' to share Nobel prize with an Indian
    Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai Friday said she is "really happy" on sharing the Nobel Peace Prize with a person from India and both have decided...

    Malala 'really happy' to share Nobel prize with an Indian

    MH17 flight's 10 more victims identified

    MH17 flight's 10 more victims identified
    Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Friday said 10 more victims of the MH17 flight disaster in eastern Ukraine were identified this week, pushing the tally of total identified people to 272....

    MH17 flight's 10 more victims identified

    IS threatened our employees: Twitter CEO

    IS threatened our employees: Twitter CEO
    Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has admitted that the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group threatened to kill his employees after their Twitter accounts were deleted....

    IS threatened our employees: Twitter CEO