South Africa - Anni Dewani, 28, shot to death, Gugulethu, 13 Nov 2010 #1

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WOW, lots of you have already made up your minds he is guilty from newspaper reports. I can't go that far yet. I am not saying he is not but until I see some argument from both sides I shall not be able to make up my mind. I know how poor and biased reporting can be. One of the reasons I have studiously avoided reading anything about the trial. It is not going to be so easy this time as we cannot hear/see what is happening. In the OP case, I felt I could almost have been a juror. I don't see that being possible here. Yesterday, I realised from reading several Twitter blogs that so many points were missed out by some and yet picked up by other Twitterers. Makes me feel we will not get the full picture.
 
WOW, lots of you have already made up your minds he is guilty from newspaper reports. I can't go that far yet. I am not saying he is not but until I see some argument from both sides I shall not be able to make up my mind. I know how poor and biased reporting can be. One of the reasons I have studiously avoided reading anything about the trial. It is not going to be so easy this time as we cannot hear/see what is happening. In the OP case, I felt I could almost have been a juror. I don't see that being possible here. Yesterday, I realised from reading several Twitter blogs that so many points were missed out by some and yet picked up by other Twitterers. Makes me feel we will not get the full picture.

Not sure I would with go with 100% guilty quite just yet, once the trial really gets underway, the truth will come out and we'll see how off msm really was. I'm posting lots of msm articles to keep this thread alive, hopefully more people will take interest and start sleuthing. :p
Most people probably will be undecided which is the best way to start out.
I'm of the opinion that SD has recovered his mental strength significantly since OP's trial went so well, I'm sure he's hoping for even a better result, a complete acquittal.
I also think SD's mental breakdown and refusal to face the charges laid against him stemmed from his fear of SA's reputation of corruption and their disgustingly overcrowded and filthy prisons.
I hope the trial will be fair and SD has his day in court and justice be served if he's found to be guilty. JMO
 
This is the evidence reported by msm that is in SD's favour -

Question 1: Why did the Dewanis get in a car with Tongo when they arrived at the airport?

Le were puzzled why, on their arrival at Cape Town airport, the Dewanis opted for ‘use of Tongo as a chauffeur rather than the free, five-star Cape Grace hotel service’. The explanation for this is simple: there isn’t one.

‘We do have a complimentary chauffeur service for guests, but that does not extend to the airport,’ says Leah de Klerk from the Cape Grace Hotel. ‘If a guest were to take one of our chauffeur services either to or from the airport, that would cost Rand 600 (£53) – each way.’
The service, which costs more than twice as much as a normal taxi, also has to be pre-booked.

LE haven't formally claimed SD pre- booked Tongo's services and Tongo has not claimed this happened in his confession. If it is accepted that Tongo’s services were not organised in advance, the field of investigation would appear to be significantly narrowed.

Question 2: Why did the Dewanis travel so far out of Cape Town on the night in question?

Dewani has told his friends that they had intended to eat that night at 96 Winery Road, 28 miles away. Set in rolling hills outside the wine-growing town of Stellenbosch, the award-winning restaurant has magnificent views over the Hottentots-Holland mountain range.
‘Yes, they had a booking,’ confirms restaurant owner Allan Forrester, and a picture of the book proves it. ‘But they never turned up.’
So, in an alternative interpretation of that evening, the couple were already miles from the hotel – and it could have been Tongo who had been manipulating Dewani into doing everything he wanted. This may explain why the Dewanis travelled so far and shows that Tongo was someone they trusted.

Question 3: Was there a sexual attack on Anni?

The South African police claim in a signed affidavit that ‘No signs of any sexual assault were found’, and this in a country in which rape is frighteningly common. This led them to conclude that this was no ordinary murder.
There is, however, evidence from two sources that the killers may at least have tried to sexually assault Anni. First there is a 20-year-old-student who saw Anni’s body. This witness lives in a three-room house in Khayelitsha township, less than 30 yards from where the hijacked car was dumped.
A serious-minded business management student, she speaks perfect English even though it is her second language after Xhosa. She insists she has not been contacted by the police and claims to be too scared to approach them herself.
‘I was about five metres away and I could see clearly into the car,’ she says.
The woman’s head was nearest us and she was lying on her back on the back seat. Her knees were up and her legs were apart. I could see that her dress was pulled up to her waist and that her panties were below her knees. It looked to me very strongly that they had done something to her. I couldn’t say if they raped her. But she had definitely been attacked. That I am sure about.’
The second source is Dr Janette Verster, the South African pathologist who examined Anni’s body.
In her report, she reveals that in addition to the bullet wound there were four fingerprint bruises on her left lower leg.
‘Four fresh circular contusions (bruises) arranged in a semi-circular fashion are present on the medial aspect of the left lower leg in the mid-shaft region. These are reminiscent of fingerprint contusions.’
According to experts working for the Dewani legal team, these grab marks are telltale signs that there was at least an attempt – perhaps not a successful one – to rape Anni. The possibility of a sexual assault is significant for two reasons.
The first is that if, as Dewani’s barrister Clare Montgomery has claimed in court, there may have been an attempt to sexually assault Anni, then her murder is more easily explicable as the work of township thugs.
Second, if there’s a possibility that Dewani is being ‘set up’ for murder by a police service keen to deflect attention from soaring local crime rates, they would want to downplay evidence of even an attempted rape. The police have refused to comment on the claims.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/mos...Certainly-But-guilty-murdering-wife-Anni.html
 
article-2056577-0EA44E9D00000578-307_634x340.jpg


1. 8pm: The Dewanis leave the Cape Grace Hotel; 2. 96 Winery Road restaurant, booked for 9.30pm; 3. The Surfside, where the Dewanis actually dined; 4. 10.45pm: Gugulethu township. The car is hijacked; 5. 11.10pm: Khayelitsha township. After being forced out of the taxi, Shrien Dewani is found; 6. 7am: Khayelitsha township. Anni's body is found.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/mos...Certainly-But-guilty-murdering-wife-Anni.html
 
Question 4: Why, after their car had been hijacked and his wife murdered, did Dewani make a payment to Tongo?

Dewani does not deny CCTV footage from the Cape Grace Hotel shows him handing over money – according to Tongo, R1,000 (£89) in cash – four days after the hijacking. But he says that was the money he owed Tongo for the evening’s driving.

Question 5: Why were there text messages between Dewani and Tongo about the money while they were in the car, with Anni alongside them?
‘While driving, either on the way to Somerset West (a large town near Strand) or on the way back, I sent a text message to Shrien Dewani not to forget about the money,’ Tongo writes in the confession he signed three weeks after the murder.
He answered by way of a text message that ‘the money was in an envelope in a pouch behind the front passenger seat’.

Question 5: How reliable were the local police?

The National Commissioner of Police, General Bheki Cele, has referred to Dewani as ‘a monkey’ who ‘thought he could get away with murder.’
Last month Cele was suspended from his job after he was named in connection with a plot to defraud the state of millions by renting police offices at up to three times their value. The South African police have now adopted a policy of not commenting on the case at all.

Question 6: How reliable are the confessions?

Tongo and the alleged ‘middle man’ Monde Mbolombo were offered plea bargains which earn a lesser sentence. Qwabe says he was beaten by police for a confession which he has since retracted, Nogemane says the whole story was suggested to him by police.

Question 7: How significant was the sum paid to Tongo?

Tongo's share of the R15,000 (£1,335) it is alleged he was paid to arrange the killing would have been the equivalent of around two weeks’ work.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/mos...guilty-murdering-wife-Anni.html#ixzz3FRtmI2gC
 
PrimeSuspect

Question 4: Why, after their car had been hijacked and his wife murdered, did Dewani make a payment to Tongo?

Dewani does not deny CCTV footage from the Cape Grace Hotel shows him handing over money – according to Tongo, R1,000 (£89) in cash – four days after the hijacking. But he says that was the money he owed Tongo for the evening’s driving.

Question 5: Why were there text messages between Dewani and Tongo about the money while they were in the car, with Anni alongside them?
‘While driving, either on the way to Somerset West (a large town near Strand) or on the way back, I sent a text message to Shrien Dewani not to forget about the money,’ Tongo writes in the confession he signed three weeks after the murder.
He answered by way of a text message that ‘the money was in an envelope in a pouch behind the front passenger seat’.
RSBM

The continued contact between Dewani and Tongo, after Anni was killed, seems very odd to me. I don't understand why Dewani would have continued to believe in Tongo's innocence. Surely at the very least he would have questioned whether Tongo was involved in what had happened, but he seemed concerned about him and even paid him, perhaps to ensure he kept his mouth shut. I can't get past the apparent faith he seem to show in Tongo's credibility. Also there doesn't seem to be any indication that Tongo tried to help Dewani and Anni, when despite the gun, there could have been 3 people against the 2 attackers.
 
I have a few issues with his Plea Explanation.

“My sexual interactions with males were mostly physical experiences or email chats with people I met online or in clubs; including prostitutes such as Leopold Leisser.

My sexual interactions with females were usually during the course of a relationship which consisted of other activities and emotional attachment".

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s never had sexual intercourse with a woman, including Anni, irrespective of the text messages.

There are number of things that are odd about the behaviour of both Dewani and Tongo:

Dewani
• Going to AMEX to change money only to be told that he needed his passport. How could he not know this. He didn’t say he forgot it.
• Travelling to another town to just change money.
• Letting a taxi driver plan their honeymoon itinerary and all they visit is an aquarium, the stadium, the BMW garage and a hill with a view. How romantic/exciting is that.

Tongo
• Giving Dewani his business card and then, IMO, constantly harassing him with phone calls and texts, even interrupting him while he’s having dinner
• Arranging a helicopter flight with a pilot and says that the pilot wants the payment off the books in cash. Off the books??? This is just totally wrong and I’m pretty sure highly illegal. What if there was an accident – no insurance?
 
This article was first published on the ********* website, but since been removed as they have archived off all old articles.

“Leopold Leisser claimed that he had met Shrien Dewani for sex sessions on 3 occasions between April and September and was paid £1100. The Dewani family labelled him a liar and said they would be taking legal action against the paper and the prostitute. Leopold leisser has produced itemised mobile phone records and the hotel receipt of a serviced apartment facility in London's Earls Court area where he claims to have met Dewani for sex”.

“Since December 2010, there has been no sign of the promised legal action from the Dewani family”.

Anni's sister Ami said that SD didn’t consummate the marriage on the honeymoon either. “She stated her sister was upset and afraid that she wasn’t attractive enough for her new husband”.

A senior Parliamentary ¬figure has told police he had kinky gay sex sessions with SD.

“The respected political aide, who mixes in the highest circles at ¬Westminster, said they enjoyed a series of sordid encounters at gay fetish club The Hoist in London”.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/anni...closet-gay-motive-for-murder-/960894877258922
 
Press reports also indicate that officers from Britain's Scotland Yard will give evidence at Dewani's trial in relation to his sexuality and personal history. They are reported to have interviewed a gay Parliamentary worker who says he met Dewani several times at gay fetish club the Hoist.

There are also reports that Dewani's laptop computer showed visits to the gaydar.co.uk gay dating website.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/anni...se-frequently-asked-questions/875384889143255
 
“Leisser claims Dewani initiated fetish sexual encounters through the gay hook-up website Gaydar under the moniker, asiansubguy.

He said they had “humiliating” sex that cost Dewani up to R6 500 for three-hour sessions.

City Press investigated the profile that allegedly belongs to Dewani. The demographic particulars provided are for a 34-year-old single, gay man of Asian descent with a penchant for one-on-one sex, group sex, or other activities, in London.

He describes himself as a “submissive c***sucker, filthy minded and perverted”.

http://www.citypress.co.za/news/dew...utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dewani-sex-murder
 
I have to say I decided pretty much immediately, as soon as the crime happened, that something was seriously wrong with SD's version...before the stuff about his lifestyle, their rows, or his interaction with Tongo became known. It is very odd IMO that he chose to delegate the honeymoon arrangements to someone else. And in a carjacking it doesn't make sense for Anni to be left in the vehicle. It all stinks, to me.

Do we know for sure that he didn't contact or somehow know Tongo before the honeymoon? I agree it is odd if he hired Tongo to be a hitman having never met him before... Unless he was utterly desperate for some reason?

Anni's text message about feeling better and she would explain why later is odd and intriguing. I suppose we'll never know what had transpired to make her send that.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
The following are some of David Dadic tweets – David Dadic @DavidDadic

More interesting will be how Dewani and his team attempt to explain the alleged telephone calls between him and convicted trigger man.

Just a little note on Deputy Judge President of the WC Judge Traverso, I've been before her quite a few times, she's hard as nails.

David Dadic retweeted
Aislinn Laing @Simmoa • Oct 6
Mr Dewani's Gerrie Nel equivalent, the prosecutor, is Adrian Mopp, the former head of the Scorpions crime investigative unit in Western Cape

I would probably have gone to a more reputable agency for tours. But that's probably just me.

Exchanging money with a taxi driver. Is this the norm?

Another murder accused with memory problems...

Seems much has been learnt (once bitten..) from the OP trial -no witness lists, no personal details etc..

Wonder if SD has a green bucket readily available while seeing this footage?
 
Press reports also indicate that officers from Britain's Scotland Yard will give evidence at Dewani's trial in relation to his sexuality and personal history. They are reported to have interviewed a gay Parliamentary worker who says he met Dewani several times at gay fetish club the Hoist.

There are also reports that Dewani's laptop computer showed visits to the gaydar.co.uk gay dating website.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/anni...se-frequently-asked-questions/875384889143255

Would love to know where this Facebook info came from. Can't imagine a Westminster parliamentary worker coming forward to 'expose' himself or to be entangled in this case.
 
The following are some of David Dadic tweets – David Dadic @DavidDadic

More interesting will be how Dewani and his team attempt to explain the alleged telephone calls between him and convicted trigger man.

Just a little note on Deputy Judge President of the WC Judge Traverso, I've been before her quite a few times, she's hard as nails.

David Dadic retweeted
Aislinn Laing @Simmoa • Oct 6
Mr Dewani's Gerrie Nel equivalent, the prosecutor, is Adrian Mopp, the former head of the Scorpions crime investigative unit in Western Cape

I would probably have gone to a more reputable agency for tours. But that's probably just me.

Exchanging money with a taxi driver. Is this the norm?

Another murder accused with memory problems...

Seems much has been learnt (once bitten..) from the OP trial -no witness lists, no personal details etc..

Wonder if SD has a green bucket readily available while seeing this footage?

:floorlaugh:

I'm thinking SD moves in some unsavory circles which would be inevitable if he's been mixing with the S&M/prostitute ring, most are legit but there would have to be a few seedy ones involved. jmo

In Australia, a woman organised the hire of a hit man through her child's school canteen to kill her lover's wife. It was a fellow canteen mum's brother who was the hit man. Once I heard that, nothing surprises me anymore, people talk and there's always one who's in the know of criminal activity. :scared:
 
I have a few issues with his Plea Explanation.

“My sexual interactions with males were mostly physical experiences or email chats with people I met online or in clubs; including prostitutes such as Leopold Leisser.

My sexual interactions with females were usually during the course of a relationship which consisted of other activities and emotional attachment".

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s never had sexual intercourse with a woman, including Anni, irrespective of the text messages.

There are number of things that are odd about the behaviour of both Dewani and Tongo:

Dewani
• Going to AMEX to change money only to be told that he needed his passport. How could he not know this. He didn’t say he forgot it.
• Travelling to another town to just change money.
• Letting a taxi driver plan their honeymoon itinerary and all they visit is an aquarium, the stadium, the BMW garage and a hill with a view. How romantic/exciting is that.

Tongo
• Giving Dewani his business card and then, IMO, constantly harassing him with phone calls and texts, even interrupting him while he’s having dinner
• Arranging a helicopter flight with a pilot and says that the pilot wants the payment off the books in cash. Off the books??? This is just totally wrong and I’m pretty sure highly illegal. What if there was an accident – no insurance?

I read the entire Plea Explanation too, and my biggest problem is that SD never bothered to ask Tongo what the hell happened that night, since he (SD) could not remember everything. Instead of asking Tongo WTF happened, he just handed him the cash in the bag, claiming that he felt sorry for Tongo??? Doesn't make any sense at all! JMO
 
De Kock confirmed that Tongo, who had been pre-booked by Shrien's personal assistant,[38] had driven the couple from Cape Town International Airport to the Cape Grace hotel on Friday, 12 November. After their arrival, Tongo alleged that he and Shrien had a conversation in the hotel lobby:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Anni_Dewani

According to Tongo, the killing was planned and carried out within 24 hours of the Dewanis arriving at Cape Town airport after four days on safari. Tongo, a limousine driver who offered himself for private hire, had been booked by Mr Dewani’s secretary to take the couple to the luxury Cape Race hotel.

It was there, according to Tongo, that Mr Dewani came to him with an extraordinary proposal. “[He] approached me alone and asked me if I knew anyone that could 'have a client of his taken off the scene’,” the confession said.

“After some discussion with him, I understood that he wanted someone, a woman, killed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/8187489/Honeymoon-murder-the-drivers-claims.html
 
...

Question 3: Was there a sexual attack on Anni?

The South African police claim in a signed affidavit that ‘No signs of any sexual assault were found’, and this in a country in which rape is frighteningly common. This led them to conclude that this was no ordinary murder.
There is, however, evidence from two sources that the killers may at least have tried to sexually assault Anni. First there is a 20-year-old-student who saw Anni’s body. This witness lives in a three-room house in Khayelitsha township, less than 30 yards from where the hijacked car was dumped.
A serious-minded business management student, she speaks perfect English even though it is her second language after Xhosa. She insists she has not been contacted by the police and claims to be too scared to approach them herself.
‘I was about five metres away and I could see clearly into the car,’ she says.
The woman’s head was nearest us and she was lying on her back on the back seat. Her knees were up and her legs were apart. I could see that her dress was pulled up to her waist and that her panties were below her knees. It looked to me very strongly that they had done something to her. I couldn’t say if they raped her. But she had definitely been attacked. That I am sure about.’

...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/mos...Certainly-But-guilty-murdering-wife-Anni.html


That sounds TOTALLY crazy to me. A sexual assault would REALLY be helpful to SD.

1. He should have thought of a sexual assault, first thing, and told Tongo to make it happen. That would have been at least a possible explanation for why S would have been separated from A.

2. There's probably a rhino horn in her safe, compliments of the Dewani's. As several disappeared from Uncle Authur, perhaps one is in Masipa's safe and they "gifted" the other to the Dewani's to help them out.

PS. How brilliant would it be to bribe people with Rhino horns. Not only would you get to manipulate outcomes but you could then also make insurance claims to cover their value!
 
WOW, lots of you have already made up your minds he is guilty from newspaper reports. I can't go that far yet. I am not saying he is not but until I see some argument from both sides I shall not be able to make up my mind. I know how poor and biased reporting can be. One of the reasons I have studiously avoided reading anything about the trial. It is not going to be so easy this time as we cannot hear/see what is happening. In the OP case, I felt I could almost have been a juror. I don't see that being possible here. Yesterday, I realised from reading several Twitter blogs that so many points were missed out by some and yet picked up by other Twitterers. Makes me feel we will not get the full picture.
I haven't made my mind up at all. There are just lots of aspects so far that sound odd. Maybe there will be clear explanations of them idc. And just because I think something is odd, it doesn't mean it's odd for someone else - like a rich man spending so much time changing money at different locations, planning a secret honeymoon but having no plan as to what to do when they are there, paying some dodgy pilot for a heli ride, and spending an inordinate amount of time with a taxi driver he just met instead of with his new wife.
 
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