NOT GUILTY South Africa - Anni Dewani, 28, shot to death, Gugulethu, 13 Nov 2010 #5

[PrimeSuspect]

20 key questions in the Dewani trial

1. Why would Dewani get married if he was admittedly bisexual? Why was he surfing gay websites while on honeymoon?

2. Did Anni know Shrien was bisexual? If she accepted it, there would not have been any motive to kill her. If she found out and had threatened to expose him, that could possibly have been a motive.

3. Why did Dewani randomly choose to use taxi driver Zola Tongo at the airport, and not use pre-arranged transport?

4. Would Dewani really have asked a taxi driver he just met to organise a murder?

5. Why would Zola Tongo jeopardise a R30 000-R40 000 per month income plus his vehicle for a R5 000 fee for his role in the hit?
6. Why did Tongo immediately call Monde Mbolombo to find hitmen? Was his role bigger than just a middleman?

7. Why was the alleged hijacking plan so haphazard?

8. Why would the Dewanis carry R14 000 in cash with them when going out for dinner - including R10 000 supposedly for a helicopter trip?

9. Why did Dewani not mention this helicopter trip to police at the time? It only emerged in his plea explanation.

10. How come the Dewanis reserved a "romantic table" at 96 Winery Road in the Winelands but ended up eating at a restaurant in Strand? How did Tongo talk them into this?

11. Why would they have driven into Gugulethu twice on the night of the hijacking?

12. Why was Dewani forced out of the vehicle, but Anni remained? Was it a kidnap attempt or a plot?

13. Who really fired the shot that killed Anni? Xolile Mngeni or Mziwamadoda Qwabe?

14. Was she killed by accident because she was screaming, or was shooting her part of the plan?

15. When did the Hindocha family become suspicious of Dewani? Was his behaviour after the murder suspicious, as Anni's cousin Sneha Mashru testified, or was he just in shock?

16. When did Dewani's family learn of his sexuality? His sister deleted his Gaydar profile days after the murder.

17. What other information or evidence was deleted?

18. Was Judge Jeanette Traverso justified in disallowing any evidence about Dewani's conflicted sexuality, thereby undermining the State's case?

19. Why did Dewani fight so hard to avoid extradition to South Africa, if he was certain of his innocence?

20. Why did the NPA spend so much of taxpayer's money on extradition proceedings and R3m for a charter plane if they weren't certain they had a watertight case?


http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/20-key-questions-in-the-Dewani-trial-20141124

 

[Interested Bystander]

Not imo. 3 things,

Dewani personally knew about family friend, Dr Pox's hijacking murder 3 years prior in Cape Town which is still unsolved.

Wikipedia has a full page about the Taxi Rank hit man for hire in Cape Town, anyone can look it up.

Dewani picks up guys off the street (no different than a guy picking up female prostitutes), he's used to risky behaviour and that shouldn't be ignored. Not that guys who do are murderers, it's just that they're not shy to ask for what they want from a stranger off the street, not everyone can do that. JMO

I would quite like to read this page but have been unable to find it. The only one I can find is this:-

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

which cannot be the one you refer to as it is talking about taxi warfare and hiring of hitmen, presumably to bump off other taxi drivers.

I wonder whether you could post a link for it please.

 

[newone]

All of your 20 points are excellent ones Prime.

I would have hoped that PT could have had the opportunity to ask SD point blank if Anni was aware of his ''bisexuality'' and/or gay preference.

I wonder if Anni could have or threatened to have the marriage annulled due to his ''misrepresentation'' of his sexuality.

MOO that being ''outed'' and known in the community as gay/bisexual may have terrified him more than divorce?

 

[JudgeJudi]

RAHIMA ESSOP ‏@rahimaessop 2 mins2 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial VZ: what are the probabilities this man (Monde) is prepared to be involved,he phones Qwabe,who attended a former model C school

(Me: No idea what a Model C school is. Anybody know?)

In the apartheid years, there were separate schools for blacks, coloureds and whites. White children’s schools were known as Model C schools. In the final years of apartheid, many of these schools converted to a semi-private form. The term continues to be used to describe government schools formerly reserved for white children and they typically have the best facilities, teachers, educational opportunities and tend to produce better academic results than government schools formerly reserved for other race groups.

 

[JudgeJudi]

You know the chewing gum thing - didn't we see gum being chewed in the Oscar trial as well?

There were two different examples. OP said he told Reeva not to chew gum at an event as it looked bad. Later, Aimee was chewing merrily away in court. Tut, tut, and with the world media watching.

 

[Interested Bystander]

Anybody else notice how defence studiously avoided the subject of helicopter trips booked with unknown pilots and the wisdom of carrying around wads of cash to pay this unknown person, at an unknown meeting place? Perhaps defence forgot.

Hoping state remembers, tomorrow.

Yes. I was really surprised. I would have thought it an absolute necessity to give some explanation of SD's alibi and yet there was nothing. The PT will surely bring it up and I suppose the DT will respond after they have heard their HoA. Maybe this is a clever ploy of some sort by the PT but still quite odd.

 

[eimajjjj]

Here's my take on your questions PrimeSuspsect:

1. Why would Dewani get married if he was admittedly bisexual? Why was he surfing gay websites while on honeymoon?

For Dewani's sexuality to have ANY relevance whatsoever on this trial you'd have to accept the following:

1) He was completely trapped in the marriage and had no other way to escape than to murder his wife and pursue a gay life.
2) He would have to be far more on the gay side than on the bisexual side and be forced into marrying/being with this woman.
3) He would have to be psychopathic.
4) There would have to be a correlation between a man's sexual preferences and his ability to commit murder.

None of the above have been proved nor is there any evidence to support them.


2. Did Anni know Shrien was bisexual? If she accepted it, there would not have been any motive to kill her. If she found out and had threatened to expose him, that could possibly have been a motive.

The above implies that if she did know he was bisexual and was going to expose it, it would be a motive to kill her. There is no evidence to suggest either way if she knew, nor if she minded, nor if she planned to expose it, nor that if 1,2 and 3 were true then the man would be capable of murdering someone over it.

3. Why did Dewani randomly choose to use taxi driver Zola Tongo at the airport, and not use pre-arranged transport?

Does every rich person who travels to a resort have pre-arranged transport from the airport? If there is just one example of this not being the case, this point becomes moot. There is nothing suspicious about a man choosing a taxi at an airport.

4. Would Dewani really have asked a taxi driver he just met to organise a murder?

Common sense and probability would say no.

5. Why would Zola Tongo jeopardise a R30 000-R40 000 per month income plus his vehicle for a R5 000 fee for his role in the hit?

Exactly.

6. Why did Tongo immediately call Monde Mbolombo to find hitmen? Was his role bigger than just a middleman?

If it was a planned robbery/kidnapping then calling someone connected to the townships makes sense.

7. Why was the alleged hijacking plan so haphazard?

The question should be, if this was a hit, why would the hit be so haphazard?! Why would an assassination be carried out in a residential neighbourhood, in the back of a car where blood would get everywhere and in the neck as opposed to the head. If one presumes this was a robbery/kidnapping that went wrong, it all makes far more sense.

8. Why would the Dewanis carry R14 000 in cash with them when going out for dinner - including R10 000 supposedly for a helicopter trip?

Again, if we take Dewani's story as true: he wanted a secret helicopter trip planned for his wife and Tongo said he could sort it then it makes sense. He tells Dewani he needs the money up front (perhaps 10 up front and the remaining 5 after) and so Dewani puts it in his taxi door secretely. Tongo then checks the money is there and tells the township guys that tonight is the night as the money is there. Explains the call from Tongo to tell them it 'must happen now'.

9. Why did Dewani not mention this helicopter trip to police at the time? It only emerged in his plea explanation.

Forgetting this doesn't imply he murdered his wife. Can we honestly imagine the trauma this guy is under? I'm sure the focus was on the guys who robbed them and the whereabouts of the wife.

10. How come the Dewanis reserved a "romantic table" at 96 Winery Road in the Winelands but ended up eating at a restaurant in Strand? How did Tongo talk them into this?

There could be numerous reasons why they changed their mind and numerous ways Tongo talked them into changing them. Surely if this was all part of the plan, the late changing would be a nuisance.

11. Why would they have driven into Gugulethu twice on the night of the hijacking?

Because Tongo knew that's where it was to be carried out and as far as I recall, going through the townships was part of the journey.

12. Why was Dewani forced out of the vehicle, but Anni remained? Was it a kidnap attempt or a plot?

Sounds like a kidnap plot to me and/or a robbery technique: separate the victims to make it easier.

13. Who really fired the shot that killed Anni? Xolile Mngeni or Mziwamadoda Qwabe?

I think it was Qwabe but this doesn't tell us either way on Dewani's guilt or not.

14. Was she killed by accident because she was screaming, or was shooting her part of the plan?

If you imagine it to be an accident, it makes far more sense than a preplanned assassination.

15. When did the Hindocha family become suspicious of Dewani? Was his behaviour after the murder suspicious, as Anni's cousin Sneha Mashru testified, or was he just in shock?

Once someone becomes implicated, guilty or innocent, its hard not to wonder, just look at this forum for example! I doubt he was very normal after finding out his wife was killed. And did the Hindocha family say they becamse suspicious of Dewani? Have they said they think he did this or just that they want the whole story?

16. When did Dewani's family learn of his sexuality? His sister deleted his Gaydar profile days after the murder.

I don't think this is relevant still. To imply it is, draws a correlation between ones sexuality and ability to murder.

17. What other information or evidence was deleted?

No evidence to suggest anything was.

18. Was Judge Jeanette Traverso justified in disallowing any evidence about Dewani's conflicted sexuality, thereby undermining the State's case?

In my opinion, yes.

19. Why did Dewani fight so hard to avoid extradition to South Africa, if he was certain of his innocence?

Because the last thing you'd probably want to do after grieving the murder of your wife would be go back to the country it happened to humour the criminals' false story of you orchestrating it. Why is his PTSD and being checked into a mental hospital discarded so easily as 'faked'?

20. Why did the NPA spend so much of taxpayer's money on extradition proceedings and R3m for a charter plane if they weren't certain they had a watertight case?

Bad decision on their part as they obviously have no more evidence to offer.

 

[JudgeJudi]

Let's take the focus of SD and his co-accused for a minute and remember Anni, the innocent victim in all of this.

 

[JudgeJudi]

“The foundation of the state’s case is the conspiracy,” Van Zyl told the court. “If it collapses, the whole case goes with it.”

Dewani is applying for his trial to be halted under a law that permits a case to be dismissed early if the prosecution has shown “no evidence on which a reasonable court, acting carefully, might convict”.

The prosecution is expected to put forward its argument for Dewani’s murder trial to continue on Tuesday. Traverso is expected to rule on the dismissal application later this week.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/24/shrien-dewani-lawyer-blistering-attack-prosecution-case

 

[JudgeJudi]

Leigh-Anne Jansen @LA_JANSEN · 5m 5 minutes ago
#DewaniTrial Mopp: The court is in possession of our Heads. We also have a bundle of case law.

#DewaniTrial Mopp: The court enquired about the conspiracy yesterday. (Mopp cites case law re conspiracy) 1. entering into an agreement

#DewaniTrial between 2 or more to commit a crime. 2. Direct communication between all conspirators is not a requirement.

#DewaniTrial The parties need not agree on the exact manner in which the crime is to be committed

 

[zwiebel]

Ayesha ‏@CloraVannieKaap 5 mins5 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial State Prosecutor Adrian Mopp prepares to argue the state's case.

 

[zwiebel]

Aislinn Laing ‏@Simmoa 2 mins2 minutes ago

Judge asks what kind of men these alleged "conspirators" are, whether they are relatively well-educated as has been suggested. #DewaniTrial

 

[JudgeJudi]

Leigh-Anne Jansen @LA_JANSEN · 5m 5 minutes ago
#DewaniTrial Mopp:How one should approach the evidence.There's a danger of approaching evidence with our own paradigm of how it was to be

#DewaniTrial Mopp: That's our own world view: that we can't fathom a hit been planned in two days. Traverso: But what is the test?

#DewaniTrial Mopp: The test is the reasonable man. I'll get to that

#DewaniTrial We know the individuals were not the A-team of contractors who could barely hitch a lift to Gugulethu

 

[JudgeJudi]

Leigh-Anne Jansen @LA_JANSEN · 5m 5 minutes ago
#DewaniTrial Mopp: I'm sketching abroad background before dealing with specifics. Both MM and ZT had vulnerabilities (financial)

#DewaniTrial Qwabe and Mngeni were in a world where they had access to firearms. Unemployed

#DewaniTrial Tongo: Young man who starts his own business to improve his life. Not in conflict with the law. Admits his involvement

 

[zwiebel]

vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01 4 mins4 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial AM... Qwabe and Mngeni different, a world in which they had access to firearms and unemployed. #sabcnews

vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01 4 mins4 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial AM:...Tongo admits his involvement..wanted to improve his life, not in conflict with the law..#sabcnews

vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01 3 mins3 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial AM... Tongo says he was in a 'critical' condition.... Admitted he was trying to market himself to the accused...#sabcnews

 

[zwiebel]

Alex Crawford ‏@AlexCrawfordSky 3 mins3 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial Judge Traverso has one arm of her glasses in her teeth as she flicks thro the State's heads of argument. Pic of concentration

 

[JudgeJudi]

Leigh-Anne Jansen @LA_JANSEN · 5m 5 minutes ago
#DewaniTrial He sketches his state of mind. Tongo says (in records) "it was a very bad period in my life. I did a terrible thing..."

#DewaniTrial Mopp: The question of the major improbabilities as part of the critique against Tongo's evidence

#DewaniTrial If one has regard to Tongo's own evidence. He said he was persistent in marketing himself. In fact, quite desperate.

#DewaniTrial He thought "hunger is over." Our submission is that it is not so improbable. The accused must've been impressed by Tongo

 

[zwiebel]

vanessa poonah ‏@vanessapoonah01 4 mins4 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial AM: not so far fetched that a conversation like that could have taken place. Judge: Accused comes to a strange country, city...

 

[JudgeJudi]

Leigh-Anne Jansen @LA_JANSEN · 4m 4 minutes ago
#DewaniTrial Traverso: Shouldn't you see that aspect from the side of the accused as well. He came to a strange City. He knows his name

#DewaniTrial is Robert Tongo. Other than that, he knows nothing. He asked this strange person

#DewaniTrial Mopp: One does not know what went through the accused's mind. Traverso: Of course we don't know. What we do know is that Anni

#DewaniTrial Dewani wanted to divorce him. Mopp: That is so, My Lady

#DewaniTrial If one has regard to the essence of what transpired. the only difference is when in his (Tongo) evidence, the deal transpired

#DewaniTrial Traverso: Mr. Mopp, I don't mean to interrupt. How many mistakes did Tongo make? Mopp: We concede, a number. But how many were

#DewaniTrial material? There aren't many that were material.

 

[zwiebel]

Alex Crawford ‏@AlexCrawfordSky 4 mins4 minutes ago

#DewaniTrial Judge jabs her finger on her desk with stabbing motions: 'Anni Dewani wanted to divorce him before they arrived here...'