Tuesday, November 11, 2014

The moment Shrien Dewani 'was told his wife had been killed': Court sees CCTV as 'middle man' claims the businessman boasted of organising ANOTHER murder


In  CCTV footage shown at the murder trial, Dewani is shown being led down the corridor to his hotel room with an arm around his shoulder while he holds his head in his hands, apparently in grief
As he arrives at the hotel room door, Dewani appears to take one hand from his face and reach into his pocket
Dewani then brings his other hand to his pocket, then appears to hand the room key to his companion and walks with him into the room with hands in pockets
Dewani then brings his other hand to his pocket, then appears to hand the room key to his companion and walks with him into the room with hands in pockets
The court heard that the businessman used an ordered 'hit' on a family friend, three years before, to persuade Zola Tongo that a fake car jacking would be a perfect cover for the honeymoon murder of his bride.
Investigators probing Anni Dewani's death cleared Dewani of any involvement in the unsolved murder of the father of a friend in 2007, also in South Africa.
But they suspect the wealthy businessman may have used its modus operandi when plotting to kill his new wife.
Dewani, 34, denies claims by taxi driver Tongo and two hitmen that he masterminded the conspiracy to kidnap and murder his Swedish wife following an ambush of their car that left him and the driver unharmed.
ritish businessman Shrien Dewani sits in the dock before the start of his trial at the Western Cape High Court
Anni Dewani, 28, who was killed on the second night of her honeymoon in Cape Town Dewani, left, is on trial for allegedly arranging the murder of his new wife Anni, right, on their honeymoon
However, testimony of 'middle man' Monde Mbolombo, who recruited two gun men at Tongo's request, has resurrected the mysterious murder of Dr Pox Raghavjee and its unsettling similarities to Mrs Dewani's death.
The Western Cape High Court, where Dewani is on trial for murder, had been told by Tongo that the idea to fake a carjacking had been suggested by Dewani during a trip to change money to pay the killers.
This was supported by Mbolombo who told prosecutor Adrian Mopp that Dewani had claimed to Tongo the method had been tried and tested by him.
'He [Dewani] went on further to say [to Tongo] that it was not the first time he did this. He did this before in South Africa,' Mbolombo told the court.
Evidence: The opening shot of the surveillance camera sequence shown to the South African court shows suspect Shrien Dewani walking through the foyer of the Cape Grace hotel days after his new wife's murder 
Evidence: The opening shot of the surveillance camera sequence shown to the South African court shows suspect Shrien Dewani walking through the foyer of the Cape Grace hotel days after his new wife's murder 
Dewani opened his eyes and mouth in an extravagant show of disbelief in the direction of the press benches as Mbolombo gave this piece of evidence to the Western Cape High Court.
And although his slick legal team are successfully managing to pick holes in Mbolombo's testimony – the former hotel receptionist admitted lying to police in the past - and highlighting contradictions in his claims since he first spoke to investigators four years ago, this intriguing element of his story has been constant. 
In a statement to detectives just six days after 28 year-old Mrs Dewani's death, in November 2010, Mbolombo made his first reference to Bristol-based Dewani's murderous boasts.
Suspicions: Dewani is in a corridor of the hotel, checking his phone and clutching a white carrier bag
Suspicions: Dewani is in a corridor of the hotel, checking his phone and clutching a white carrier bag
'He [Tongo] also said he got the impression this man had been in South Africa before and also had done something like this before, as he mentioned that he wanted the murder to look like any hijacking. He said that the man had previously arranged for somebody to be killed in a 'fake hijacking in South Africa',' Mbolombo's statement read.
Dr Raghavjee was found dead in his car three years before Mrs Dewani, the apparent victim of a carjacking - a common crime in South Africa.
The circumstances around his death bore two striking similarities to Mrs Dewani's - they were both killed with a single bullet, and neither of the cars they were ambushed in were stolen. 
Dr Raghavjee's wallet, cash and watch were even left at the crime scene - leading investigators to believe that it was more of a contract 'hit' than a genuine car-bound kidnap and robbery.
Retail therapy: The bag is from a shopping trip to the nearby V&A Waterfront. The Western Cape High Court heard Dewani chose to shop for greetings cards instead of attending a Hindu ceremony to bless his wife's body
Retail therapy: The bag is from a shopping trip to the nearby V&A Waterfront. The Western Cape High Court heard Dewani chose to shop for greetings cards instead of attending a Hindu ceremony to bless his wife's body
Dewani knew details of the unsolved crime well from the doctor's son, Krischen, and daughter in law Alvita, who are close friends from Bristol. 
Despite offering a reward for information worth £9,000 – a massive amount in poverty-stricken South Africa – the murder remains a mystery. 
And in a further twist, the dead man's widow, Heather, was one of the first people to travel to Cape Town to comfort Dewani in the days after the engineer's body was found.
In CCTV footage previously viewed by the court, Shrien Dewani is seen allegedly slipping away from a policeman and his father-in-law to secretly pay the driver he'd hired to kill his wife.
Sad: Dewani's father Prakash and his father-in-law Vinod Hindocha return from the ritual to bless Anni's body
Sad: Dewani's father Prakash and his father-in-law Vinod Hindocha return from the ritual to bless Anni's body
Dewani failed to give an explanation for his seven-minute absence to either the father of his dead wife or an officer assigned to her murder, his trial heard.
During the series of shots, the wealthy businessman is seen before, during and after the meeting with Zola Tongo. It came three days after his new wife Anni was found dead in the back of Tongo's taxi, a bullet through her neck.
As well as revealing the exchange of money between Dewani and Tongo, the 13-minute sequence exposes a striking difference in body language between Mrs Dewani's obviously grief-stricken father and her apparently relaxed husband of two weeks.
On the move: Dewani is shown again in the same location, this time clutching his laptop computer as well
On the move: Dewani is shown again in the same location, this time clutching his laptop computer as well
Dewani, 34, admits handing over R1,000 (£65) to Tongo during the short encounter, but says it was a tip, not payment for his wife's contract killing. Tongo claims he was short-changed by Dewani for organising hit men to kill the Swedish engineer, which the businessman had ordered to be disguised as a carjacking.
The film, taken from a variety of locations around the Cape Grace hotel, begins with Dewani walking back from a shopping trip to the nearby V&A Waterfront, a small white plastic bag swinging from his hand.
The Western Cape High Court has heard how Bristol-based Dewani chose to shop for African-themed greetings cards over attending a Hindu ceremony to bless his wife's dead body as it was prepared to be flown back to Britain.
Waiting: Dewani sits alone, peering at his laptop and mobile phone, in the hotel's closed in terrace
Waiting: Dewani sits alone, peering at his laptop and mobile phone, in the hotel's closed in terrace
On his way: Cab driver Zola Tongo, dressed all in white, makes his way to his meeting with Dewani at the hotel. He claims he was recruited four days before by the newlywed to organise his bride's murder
On his way: Cab driver Zola Tongo, dressed all in white, makes his way to his meeting with Dewani at the hotel. He claims he was recruited four days before by the newlywed to organise his bride's murder
Difficult: Mr Hindocha, Anni's father, arrives back on the hotel terrace after going to see his daughter's body. He is accompanied by a police officer who is carrying a newspaper splashed with news of Anni's murder
Difficult: Mr Hindocha, Anni's father, arrives back on the hotel terrace after going to see his daughter's body. He is accompanied by a police officer who is carrying a newspaper splashed with news of Anni's murder
Read all about it: Dewani immediately snatches up the broadsheet and is seen scanning the front page
Read all about it: Dewani immediately snatches up the broadsheet and is seen scanning the front page
His father, Prakash, attended the ritual instead, which was organised by Vinod Hindocha, Dewani's father-in-law, and the two men are shown being dropped back at the hotel after the blessing at the mortuary. 
Dewani, unshaven and wearing jeans, is shown carrying the small white bag and his laptop and settling down on a leather sofa in a quiet seating area of the hotel's closed-in terrace. 
The bag which came with the packet of greeting cards, is now holding the the money for Tongo, the court heard. 
At one point, Dewani looks behind him and up at the CCTV camera in the corner of the room. Earlier, Tongo told the trial that he had warned Dewani about the security camera as they met the morning after the township carjacking. 
Time to go: Dewani apparently gets the message from Tongo that he's arriving at the hotel
Time to go: Dewani apparently gets the message from Tongo that he's arriving at the hotel
They were waiting to hear news of Mrs Dewani, who had been driven off in the back of Tongo's taxi by two armed men, after the driver and Dewani had both been released unharmed.
As Dewani sits peering between the screens of his laptop and phone, Tongo – who claims he was recruited by the newlywed to organise his bride's murder within minutes of dropping them at the hotel four days before – is seen on another camera making his way to get his payment, dressed from head to toe in white.
One of the empty leather chairs opposite Dewani is then filled by Mr Hindocha, 65, who is accompanied by a police officer carrying a paper emblazoned with news of Mrs Dewani's murder.
Dewani immediately snatches up the broadsheet and is seen scanning the front page, which shows a picture of the blood-smeared car from which her body was recovered.
On his way: Tongo is seen on camera walking towards the main entrance of the Cape Grace hotel
On his way: Tongo is seen on camera walking towards the main entrance of the Cape Grace hotel
Entering the complex: He strolls up to the glass doors, which are opened for him by a doorman
Entering the complex: He strolls up to the glass doors, which are opened for him by a doorman
Shortly after Dewani is seen looking at his lit-up phone – Tongo messages to say he is nearby, the court was told – and stands up and leaves the room, the small bag of money is in his hand.
He passes Captain Vinesh Lutchman who comes through the door - he was the first detective to investigate Mrs Dewani's murder, and was by this point the liaison officer for the grieving family as they prepare to fly her body home.
A security camera in the lobby picks up the familiar figure of Dewani, in collared shirt, as he waits and paces while Tongo walks through the car park, just seconds away.
As he comes through the imposing glass entrance, Dewani turns and walk off briskly, indicating that the driver should follow.
Waiting: Dewani  is seen pacing back and forth in the hotel lobby in the moments before Tongo appears
Waiting: Dewani  is seen pacing back and forth in the hotel lobby in the moments before Tongo appears
In his testimony Tongo told the court, 'I saw the gentleman standing there. He was just standing at the beginning of the passage. He signalled me to follow him. I did.'
The two men are seen heading down a deserted corridor and through the door of the hotel's small business centre, where they met for 90 seconds in private, away from any cameras.
Tongo is seen leaving the room, his pocket bulging with the bag, and disappearing into a hotel lavatory - where he began to count the money. 
He told the court he had been expecting to get R4,000 (approximately £260 pounds), for recruiting the hit men and driving Mrs Dewani into danger.
Follow me: Dewani leads the way as he takes the cab driver to a part of the hotel which is not covered by CCTV
Follow me: Dewani leads the way as he takes the cab driver to a part of the hotel which is not covered by CCTV
Paid, but apparently not in full... Tongo leaves. He says Dewani paid him R1,000, a quarter of what he expected
Paid, but apparently not in full... Tongo leaves. He says Dewani paid him R1,000, a quarter of what he expected
He said: 'I counted the money inside. There was only 1,000 South African rand [£65]. I was angry. I put it in my back pocket. I went outside.'
Dewani is then shown returning to his room upstairs, briefly, and comes back down the corridor with a large notebook – perhaps to use its retrieval as the cover for his absence - and re-joins his father-in-law and Captain Lutchman downstairs.
He has been away for nearly seven minutes – but Captain Lutchman shook his head and replied, 'no, he said nothing,' when asked by prosecutor Adrian Mopp if Dewani had said where he had been been. Tongo was not a suspect in the carjacking by that point, the officer confirmed to the court.
One last errand: Dewani is next seen returning to his room at the hotel 
One last errand: Dewani is next seen returning to his room at the hotel 
Dewani resumes his position in the leather sofa, opposite his father in law, and draws his computer on his lap to type.
For most of the sequence, with the officer next to him busy with newspapers and police paperwork, Mr Hindocha sits entirely motionless, his head resting on his hands, his eyes staring at his lap.
The body language between Mrs Dewani's husband and father could not be more conflicting. During the entire sequence, the two men are seen to exchange hardly a word.
Just had to get this... He re-emerges from the room with a large notebook 
Just had to get this... He re-emerges from the room with a large notebook 
Dewani, his father, and Mr Hindocha left Cape Town the following day, accompanying Mrs Dewani's body. Three days later, Tongo confessed to his part in her murder, implicating her new husband as the chief conspirator in the plot.
The driver turned state witness and told police how he had recruited two hitmen to help him stage a carjacking as the cover for the killing – a strategy allegedly devised by Dewani.
Tongo was sentenced to 18 years for murder, hitman Mziwamadoda Qwabe who confessed to his part was jailed for 25 years and Zolile Mngeni was convicted of murder following a trial and also jailed for 25 years, but died last month from a brain tumour.
Sumptous: Dewani carries the notebook back through the hotel's lavish surroundings
Sumptous: Dewani carries the notebook back through the hotel's lavish surroundings
Monde Mbolombo is currently giving evidence against Dewani - he was a 'middle man' tasked by Tongo with recruiting the killers and spared prosecution in return for giving evidence at Mngeni's trial.
He now faces prosecution following Dewani's hearing, unless Judge Jeanette Traverso is persuaded that his immunity should be extended.
Qwabe and Mbolombo both told the court how Tongo told them he had been hired by a husband who wanted a lady killed.
Dewani denies five charges, including murder and kidnapping.
The trial continues. 
Mourning: He re-enters the enclosed terrace where his father-in-law is waiting, head in hand, sitting next to local police officer Captain Vinesh Lutchman who was acting as the liaison officer for the family 
Mourning: He re-enters the enclosed terrace where his father-in-law is waiting, head in hand, sitting next to local police officer Captain Vinesh Lutchman who was acting as the liaison officer for the family 
Keeping busy: Dewani fiddles with his laptop and phone as Mr Hindocha stays into space blankly
Keeping busy: Dewani fiddles with his laptop and phone as Mr Hindocha stays into space blankly

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