Shrien Dewani: Difference between revisions

{{Notability|date=June 2022}}

'''Shrien Dewani''' born (29 December 1979) is a [[United Kingdom]] businessman of [[Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin|Indian origin]] who was married to [[Anni Ninna Dewani]]<ref name= "bbc.com">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-13226067.amp|title=Dewani Murder|date=22 June 2022|work=BBC|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> who was murdered while on her honeymoon in [[South Africa]] after the taxi in which he and she were traveling was hijacked. Shrien Dewani is now in a gay relationship with Brazilian-born photographer '''Gledison Lopez Martins''' since 2017.

{{Short description|United Kingdom husband of Anni Dewani}}

{{Use British English|date=June 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Shrien Dewani

| birth_name = Shrien Dewani

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1979|12|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Bristol]], United Kingdom

| nationality = [[United Kingdom|United Kingdom]]

| height =

| education =

| alma mater =

| occupation = Businessman

| spouse = [[Anni Ninna Dewani]] (2010 - 2010)

==Court Cases==

Several arrests by the South African police (SAPS) were made in the days following the crime; hijackers Xolile Mngeni, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and hotel receptionist Monde Mbolombo admitted to police their involvement in an unintentionally fatal robbery and kidnapping. Facing life in prison, Qwabe and Mbolombo later changed their stories to allege the crime was a premeditated murder for hire at the behest of Anni's husband Shrien Dewani. The taxi driver Zola Tongo first claimed to be an innocent victim of the incident, but later faced with the weight of evidence implicating him in the crime and in the wake of his fellow conspirators' allegations of a "murder for hire" plot, he too changed his story to allege the husband was the instigator.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/17/dewani-murder-doubts-raised-police|title=Dewani murder case: How grieving husband became suspect|date=22 June 2022|work=The Guardian|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> Plea bargains were offered to the three conspirators in exchange for future testimony in legal proceedings related to the crime. The allegation of Shrien Dewani's involvement made global headlines; Shrien Dewani's supporters denied the accusations, saying it was "ludicrous" to suggest he had solicited an attack on his wife from the first taxi driver he met within hours of their arrival in [[Cape Town]].<ref name="theguardian.com"/>

Zola Tongo pleaded guilty to murder in December 2010 and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Mziwamadoda Qwabe pleaded guilty to murder in August 2012 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Xolile Mngeni was tried and convicted of murder in November 2012 and was sentenced to life in prison. Monde Mbolombo admitted his involvement but was offered immunity in exchange for testimony against the other men alleged to have been involved in the crime.

South African prosecutors formulated charges against '''Shrien Dewani''' based on the later-discredited confessions of Tongo, Qwabe and Mbolombo, who were found to have committed [[perjury]].<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2014/188.html|title=S v Dewani (CC15/2014) [2014] ZAWCHC 188 (8 December 2014)|website=www.saflii.org|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> Charges were brought on the basis that his wife Anni had been the victim of a premeditated kidnapping and murder for hire that was staged to appear like a random carjacking, allegedly arranged by Shrien. Following a long legal battle, Shrien was extradited from the UK to South Africa to face trial. He was acquitted by a [[Western Cape High Court]] in December 2014.

==Marriage==

Shrien Dewani met Anni Hindocha in [[London]] in 2009; they maintained a long-distance relationship until Hindocha moved to the UK in March of 2010. There they became engaged in May 2010.<ref name=gualav>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/08/shrien-dewani-profile-lavish-wedding-high-court-murder-trial-south-africa |title=Shrien Dewani: from lavish wedding to a high court murder trial |work=The Guardian |date=22 June 2022}}</ref> The couple, whose relationship was sometimes quite troubled,<ref name=gualav /> married at [[Lake Powai]] near [[Mumbai]], India, on 29 October 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141209/jsp/foreign/story_2763.jsp#.Vjq8PWt3mdo |title=Court clears Dewani of honeymoon murder |work=[[The Telegraph (Calcutta)]] |date=22 June 2022}}</ref> They both were planning to hold a [[civil ceremony]] in the UK in 2011 for friends who could not attend their wedding in India.<ref name=Indp2164391>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/murder-of-anni-dewani-the-bridegrooms-story-2164391.html|title=Murder of Anni Dewani: The bridegroom's story|work=The Independent|location=London|date=22 June 2022|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>

==Robbery, kidnapping and murder==

After Shrien and Anni Dewani landing at [[Cape Town International Airport]] on 7 November 2010, Dewani and his wife took a domestic flight and stayed at the [[Kruger National Park]] for four nights.<ref name=telpro>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8186487/Honeymoon-murder-Shrien-Dewani-profile.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8186487/Honeymoon-murder-Shrien-Dewani-profile.html |archive-date=22 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Honeymoon murder: Shrien Dewani profile |work=The Telegraph |date=22 June 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 12 November, the couple returned to '''Cape Town International Airport''', where they met and engaged taxi driver Zola Tongo to drive them to the five-star '''Cape Grace Hotel'''.

On 13 November, having kept Tongo as a tour guide and taxi driver, the couple were driven through the city in his [[Volkswagen Sharan]] into the dangerous suburb of '''Gugulethu'''. Tongo drove past a BBQ restaurant (Mzolis) and they continued to Surfside Restaurant in Strand, where the couple had dinner. After their meal, Tongo drove the couple back into '''Gugulethu'''. Shortly after they had turned off the main road, two armed men hijacked the vehicle. After driving a short distance, Tongo was ejected from the taxi. Shrien Dewani was robbed of his money, wallet, designer watch and mobile phone, and after being driven for about twenty minutes, he was also ejected from the vehicle.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/taxi-driver-held-over-murder-of-newlywed-in-south-africa-2141122.html |title=Taxi driver held over murder of newly-wed in South Africa |work=The Independent |date=22 June 2022}}</ref> On the street, a bystander assisted him by calling the South African police (SAPS).

The next morning at 07:50 on 14 November, in Lingelethu West, [[Anni Dewani]] was found dead in the back of the VW Sharan taxi.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/police-hunt-honeymoon-carjack-killers-2134389.html |title=Police hunt honeymoon carjack killers |work=The Independent |date=22 June 2022}}</ref> She had suffered a single gunshot wound to her neck. Police later confirmed Anni's Giorgio Armani wristwatch, a white-gold and diamond bracelet, her handbag and her BlackBerry mobile phone were missing, and assumed they were stolen.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-11945835 | work=BBC News | title=South Africa honeymoon death husband's bail opposed | date=22 June 2022}}</ref><ref name=Underhill>{{cite web|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2010-11-26-dewani-may-face-extradition|title=Dewani may face extradition|work=The M&G Online|date=22 June 2022|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> The items stolen in the robbery had an estimated value of [[South African rand|R]]90,000 (USD {{To USD | 90000 | ZAF | round = yes }}).<ref name="saflii.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2010/601.html|title=S v Tongo (SS 59/2010) [2010] ZAWCHC 601 (5 December 2010)|website=www.saflii.org|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>

==Media coverage==

In South Africa and the United Kingdom, there was much media coverage of the case following the discovery of the body of [[Anni Dewani]]. With the South African economy reliant on tourism, tour operators reported an immediate drop in bookings as potential visitors became aware of the country's murder rate; on average, 46 murders per day (2010 statistics). There were also concerns the killing would negate the goodwill resulting from the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/a-week-after-honeymoon-brides-murder-what-can-be-the-explosive-revelation-2139734.html|title=A week after honeymoon bride's murder, what can be the 'explosive revelation'?|work=The Independent|location=London|date=22 June 2022|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> The assignment of the '''Police Hawks''' team who are South Africa's top policing unit, and the early arrests, conviction and statement implicating Shrien Dewani led to increased media coverage worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-12-21-race-class-and-the-dewani-case|title=Race, class and the Dewani case|publisher=Mail & Guardian|date=21 December 2010|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/people-news/3997/dewani-denied-his-wife-sex-claims-c4-film|title=Shrien Dewani family welcome 'significant' Panorama findings &#124; Dewani murder News &#124; The Week UK|publisher=Theweek.co.uk|date=20 September 2013|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/police-investigating-if-shrien-dewani-had-male-lovers-report-118440|title=Police investigating if Shrien Dewani had male lovers: Report|publisher=NDTV.com|date=11 July 2011|access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>

===BBC ''Panorama'' episode ===

An episode of the [[BBC]] television documentary series ''[[Panorama (TV series)|Panorama]]'' in March 2012 reported that the original South African post-mortem report showed the bullet that killed [[Anni Dewani]] had passed through her left hand into her chest, and that the wound on her neck was an exit wound. The report said the bullet left "an irregular gunshot exit wound", which suggested there had been a struggle.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17530411|title=Dewani Couple honeymoon kiss caught on camera |publisher=BBC News, Johannesburg |date=29 March 2012 |access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> A second ''Panorama'' programme on '''BBC''' broadcast in September 2013 revisited the case and highlighted numerous inconsistencies between the physical evidence, witness testimony, and the South African prosecutors' purported version of events. In particular it said the forensic evidence had not been collected correctly and that it indicated an accidental shooting during a struggle rather than a deliberate killing.

===Anni: The Honeymoon Murder===

A four part documentary on Anni Dewani’s murder and death was released for streaming in 2021 and television in 2022 by the '''Discovery series channel'''. Producers of this crime documentary series used testimony and CCTV footage, from the South African police (SAPS), '''Cape Grace Hotel''', investigating officers, interviews with legal teams, the Hindocha family and the hotel receptionist who received immunity from prosecution and became a state witness, '''Monde Mbolombo'''.

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:English Hindus]]

[[Category:English people of Indian descent]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:People from Bristol]]