commentary by Patrick H. Moore
In a rather interesting case, a British businessman, Shrien Dewani, was arrested in December of 2010 for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill his wife, Anni Dewani, in South Africa during their honeymoon just two weeks after they were married. Surpassingly strange, you say? Indeed. But it is nonetheless a fact that newly-wed husbands do occasionally murder their freshly-ringed wives (or in some cases arrange to have them murdered). Take for instance, the recent case of the Terre Haute, Indiana doctor, George “Scott” Samson, who shot and killed his wife, a lovely nurse named Kelly Ecker, immediately after their wedding reception because she ran up some bills on one of his credit cards.
The Samson atrocity was an open-and-shut case. Not only were there witnesses at the house who witnessed the slaying, but the good doctor also shot and killed himself before the police got there.
Not every case involving a newly-wed wife’s untimely death is this clear-cut, however, as the Samson-Ecker matter. The murder of Anni Dewani certainly was not.
What is known for certain is the following (please decide for yourself whether or not the husband Shrien conspired to rub out poor Anni):
Peter Hutchison, John Bingham and Dan Newling write for the Telegraph:
Mr Dewani, from Bristol, and his Swedish-born bride were honeymooning in South Africa, following a “fairy tale” wedding in India, when the attack happened on November 13.
They were travelling through Gugulethu, a township, when they were ambushed by two men who appeared to threaten their driver, Zola Tongo, and order him out of the car before also ejecting Mr Dewani.
This is how it began. The way it ended was “Mrs Dewani was found shot dead in the back of the car several hours later.”
A few weeks later in December, in a dramatic twist, a South African prosecutor, Rodney de Kock, with Anni’s father who had flown in from Sweden looking on, publicly announced that they were accepting a signed confession from Mr. Tongo. In his plea deal, Tongo admitted to murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping. De Kock also stated that Mr Dewani had orchestrated the murder:
“The alleged hijacking was in fact not a hijacking, but part of a plan of subterfuge which Shrien Dewani, the husband of the deceased, and the accused had designed to conceal the true facts, to wit: that the deceased was murdered at the instance of her husband.”
(Stilted legalese, to say the least.)
South African prosecutors
De Kock then read a lengthy confession signed by Tongo, “who sat in the dock with his head buried in his hands”, which explained how Mr Dewani had allegedly offered the driver just under 1400 British pounds to plan and carry out the “hit”.
“The hijacking would be simulated,” the confession claims. “The agreement was that after the ‘hijacking’ of the vehicle, both Shrien Dewani and I would be ejected from the vehicle unharmed, after which the deceased would be murdered.
“The kidnapping and robbery were part of the plan to make it appear that this was a random criminal act, unconnected to Shrien Dewani.”
Mr. Tongo also insisted that Shrien had sent him a text message saying that the fee was hidden behind a seat.
The problem with all of this, which was to come back and bite the prosecution later, was the fact that de Kock apparently had no evidence to support the allegations other than the signed confession. Not only that, there was no motive.
Evann Gastaldo of Newser reports that the hapless conspirator, Mr. Tongo, was sentenced to 18 years in a South African prison for his role in the kidnapping/murder. The alleged shooter got life in prison and a third accomplice got 25 years.
From the beginning, Shrien’s family called Tongo claims “totally ludicrous,” stating that the prosecutor’s theory of the case was “extremely convenient for South Africa”, with the insinuation being that they wanted a quick solution so as to not have any adverse consequences for the tourist trade
As if this were not enough, Mary Papenfuss of Newser reported a few days later that the South African prosecutor had the audacity to link Shrien to a second murder, claiming that he had boasted to Tongo that “he had once arranged a similar hit”.
(Although I hope no one will hold this against me, I once arranged a failed hit on Clarabelle the Clown, formerly of the Howdy Doody show.)
Evann Gastaldo of Newser wrote in October of this year:
Nearly four years after his wife was killed in an apparent carjacking during their South Africa honeymoon, Shrien Dewani today pleaded not guilty to arranging her murder. Prosecutors say the British millionaire hired hit men to kill his wife, Anni, in Cape Town in November 2010.
Gastaldo went on to say that after returning to the UK, Shrien fought extradition for years, “but he was finally sent back to South Africa in April” of 2014.
BBC News reported Shrien’s not guilty plea proceedings in some detail including plenty of interesting details about Shrien’s freewheeling personal life. In a written statement, Shrien, who by 2014 was 34 years old, told the court that his “whole world came crashing down” when his wife was found killed.
Shrien also revealed to the court that he is bisexual and his defense lawyer, Francois Van Zyl, stated that the wealthy swinger said that he “had sexual interaction with both males and females”.
“My sexual interactions with males were mostly physical experiences or email chats with people I met online or in clubs, including prostitutes,” Shrien’s statement read.
Shrien and Anni had begun dating in the summer of 2009 and when the issue of having children inevitably came up, Shrien explained to Anni that he had “low levels of hormones” (low sperm count?) which rendered “his chances of having children slim.”
The South African court received plenty of information including details about an “angry disagreement” the couple had in May 2010.
The court also heard the text of a love letter from Shrien to Anni written around that time. Who knows whether it was show or whether it was genuine, but while the letter was being read to the Court, Shrien sobbed quietly. Here is a partial text of the letter:
Dear Anni,
I realise we are very different but I have always believed in a relationship you can work through those differences. When we first met I immediately liked you … And no not just because you are pretty … but because you made me laugh.
I have always wanted a girl that I can be friends with. One that understands me – and I know that that is not easy. I know that I am so focussed that some people think I am intense. I am focussed on achieving things in life.
I really do love you, and hence I don’t want you to be unhappy. I want to be with you forever but not if that makes you unhappy … that I could not bear … I really hope we work this out.
I am really sorry that I have made you feel like this. You are so precious to me – I know I don’t always show it. I often find it difficult to show how much you mean to me … But please do not think this is because I don’t love you.
Speak to you later
Love always
Shrien
Prior to his extradition, Shrien’s lawyers argued that he “was not fit to stand trial and that he would be mistreated in a South African prison.”
He also spent time in a British hospital after a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
When his health improved, a judge ruled he could be extradited and he was flown to Cape Town in April where he was held at the Valkenberg hospital unit awaiting trial.
* * * * *
So after all of this, and four long years of waiting, how do you suppose the Cape Town High Court Judge Jeanette Traverso ruled? (Remember, South Africa does not have a jury system and its judges serve as both judge and jury.
Newser Editors and Wire Services write:
A British man accused of killing his wife while they were on their honeymoon in Cape Town was acquitted of murder today after a South African judge concluded that the prosecution’s case didn’t have sufficient evidence.
Traverso delivered the ruling after deliberating for two weeks after arguments by Dewani’s lawyers stating “that the case should be dismissed due to a lack of evidence, stating that the prosecution’s case did not meet judicial standards requiring reasonable and probable cause to believe that the accused was guilty.”
“In my view, the evidence presented in this case falls far below this threshold,” Traverso said. “The accused is found not guilty on this charge.” The state’s key witness, Zola Tongo, had said Dewani paid him to hire two men to carry out the murder. Traverso, however, said Tongo’s testimony was riddled with contradictions.
* * * * *
There is one key point here that I would ask you to consider. In our American judicial system, our juries often deliver guilty verdicts after deliberating for a mere hour or two. The sad truth is that in this great nation, as many who really understand our system will admit, there is often a presumption on the part of the jurors that a defendant is guilty until proved innocent.
In contrast, Judge Traverso deliberated for a solid two weeks. Thus Shrien, for better or for worse, truly “had his day in court”, which, I believe, is a good thing. If I’m not mistaken, Oscar Pistorius’s judge deliberated for much longer than that.
There’s a lesson to be learned here, I believe, but I’m not sure we will ever learn it.