Cape Town: The family of a Swedish bride murdered on her honeymoon plans to sue her wealthy British husband Shrien Dewani, after his acquittal, saying she would never have married him if she knew he was bisexual.
Dewani walked free from the Cape Town high court Monday after a shock judgement saw him cleared him of hiring hit men to murder 28-year-old Anni Dewani (née Hindocha).
In a statement published Tuesday, Anni’s uncle Ashok Hindocha said Anni would never have married Dewani if she had known about “his secret sex life with male prostitutes”.
“Neither would we have, as a family, condoned a union with a man who indulged himself in such a sordid manner,” the statement said.
“We will now go through this case with our lawyers to confirm whether we can file a lawsuit against Shrien Dewani in the UK.”
Both families are of Indian origin and had sat across the courtroom from each other since the trial began in October. Many on both sides wept — with joy on the one hand and bitterness on the other — when Dewani was acquitted.
Judge Jeanette Traverso said there was “no evidence” on which she could reasonably convict Dewani for allegedly orchestrating his wife’s death. He was expected to fly to Britain on Tuesday.
The judge said that the testimony of his three alleged co-conspirators was “riddled with inconsistencies” and she could not tell “where the truth begins”. Anni’s sister, Ami Denborg, said the judge’s decision left them with more questions than answers.
The family is now considering suing Dewani, 34, a self-confessed bisexual, in the British civil courts for tricking Anni into a “sham” marriage. “We heard that Shrien has led a double life and that Anni knew nothing about it,” she said. “We just wish that Shrien had been honest with us and especially with Anni.
“The knowledge of not ever knowing what happened to my dearest little sister on November 13, 2010 is going to haunt me, my family, my brother, my parents for the rest of our lives.”
Anni, 28, and her husband were carjacked as they drove through a South African township late at night. Her husband was forced from the car at gunpoint along with their driver.
Anni was found dead from a single bullet to the throat in the back seat of the abandoned car the following morning.
The couple’s taxi driver turned state witness and, in return for a reduced sentence, claimed Dewani recruited him to find two hit men to kill his wife for a total of R15,000 (Dh4,797 or £900). One of the hit men and a middle man who put the conspirators in touch with each other also gave evidence against him.
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority, which fought for Dewani’s extradition from the UK for four years, said the judge’s decision did not mean Dewani was innocent. “It is unfortunate that Dewani has been acquitted because we believe that he was involved,” spokesman Nathi Mncube said.
“To say we’ve got an innocent man is an unfair statement because he was implicated by three witnesses and we are relying on those witnesses and the court can only pronounce on those witnesses.”
He added: “He didn’t testify. If he did testify and the court believed his version it would be a different story. But we do not know what his version was except what was put to the witnesses.” As the judge read out her decision,
Dewani stood impassively in the dock, looking straight ahead. Judge Traverso said she had heard “no evidence on which a court acting reasonable could convict”, and was scathing about the testimony of his three alleged co-plotters.
“Their evidence is so improbable and contains so many mistakes and lies that one cannot tell where the truth begins,” she said. After she left the court, Dewani’s family wept and embraced each other, as he returned to the cells below and was driven away. Outside the court, a crowd chanted “Justice for Anni” as her family was driven away. Explaining her decision over a two-and-a-half hour hearing,
Judge Traverso stopped short of declaring Dewani’s innocence, but said she could not allow for the case to continue and for him to give evidence “in the hope” he would implicate himself.
Turning to Anni’s family, she said she understood their distress. “Regrettably there are many unanswered questions about what happened that fateful night,” she said. “I have heard the plight of the Hindocha family’s, that they would like answers to their questions but I have taken an oath to uphold the rule of law. If any court allowed public opinion or emotion to influence the application of the law, it would lead to anarchy.”
After leaving court, Dewani is believed to have taken a “selfie” with one of the court custody officers before being driven to Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital where he has spent the past seven months since extradition undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. A police source said that Dewani had asked to stay at Valkenberg one more night, and is due to leave South Africa for Britain tonight.
