British businessman Shrien Dewani pleaded not guilty to arranging the killing of his wife, Anni, during their honeymoon in Cape Town almost four years ago.
Dewani, 35, pleaded not guilty to five charges including murder and kidnapping at the opening of his trial today in the Cape Town High Court that’s due to last until Dec. 12. In a statement read out by his lawyer, Francois van Zyl, Dewani said that while he considered himself bisexual and had sexual relations with prostitutes, he underwent hormone treatment so he could have a family with Anni.
“There was no doubt in my mind that I loved Anni and that I wanted to create a future for both of us,” he said in the statement. Dewani bowed his head and closed his eyes when prosecutor Adrian Mopp showed the court footage of his wife’s body lying in the back of an abandoned vehicle.
Dewani returned to South Africa on April 8 after losing a battle to prevent his extradition from the U.K. He was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and defeating the ends of justice.
“I plead not guilty to all five counts,” Dewani, who wore a charcoal suit and white shirt, told Judge Jeanette Traverso.
Taxi Ride
Dewani says he and Anni were carjacked at gunpoint while traveling in a taxi through Cape Town’s Gugulethu township on Nov. 13, 2010. While the businessman was released unharmed, his wife was found dead on the back seat of the abandoned vehicle the next day with a gunshot wound in her neck. Prosecutors say Dewani arranged the killing, an allegation he denies.
Dewani said he met taxi driver Zola Tongo shortly after arriving at Cape Town International Airport on his honeymoon, hired his vehicle and asked him to arrange a private helicopter flight as a surprise for his new bride.
Tongo collected the couple in his taxi after dinner one evening and Dewani thought he was taking them to the helicopter, according to the statement.
“We turned off the motorway,” Dewani wrote. “The next thing I remember was banging noises coming from the right-hand side of the car. There was a lot of shouting in a language I did not understand. The next thing I recall is somebody next to me who told me to lie down. This person had a gun in his hand.”
Dewani said he and his wife were both terrified and complied with the gunman’s order. He was later ordered to leave the vehicle.
‘Stay Together’
“I insisted that we both have to stay together,” Dewani wrote. “They became angrier and shouted at me to get out. The one with the gun put it to my head and threatened to shoot me if I did not get out. I tried to open the door but it would not open. I recall the window opening. I recall hitting the ground and the car speeding away. The last thing I said to Anni was to be quiet and not to say anything.”
The first witness, pathologist Janette Verseter, testified that Anni was shot from about 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) and the bullet passed through her left hand into her neck.
Dewani has been held at Cape Town’s Valkenberg Hospital since his first court appearance after his lawyers argued he needed psychiatric treatment.
“Since that terrible day it has been torture for our family,” Vinod Hindocha, Anni’s father, told reporters in Cape Town yesterday. “All I ask for is the full story and justice. I am convinced that South Africa will conduct a fair and open trial of Shrien Dewani.”
Xolile Mngeni admitted to the shooting and was jailed for life in 2012, while accomplice Mziwamadoda Qwabe, who also pleaded guilty to murder, received a 25-year prison sentence. Tongo was jailed for 18 years for being an accomplice to the crime. Tongo said in a plea bargain that Dewani paid him to arrange a hit on his wife.
South Africa’s murder rate is 6.7 times higher than that of the U.S. There were 17,068 homicides committed in the country in the 12 months through March, about 800 more than the previous year, latest police data shows.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vernon Wessels at vwessels@bloomberg.net Karl Maier, Gordon Bell
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