A man who was accused of ordering hitmen to murder his wife during their honeymoon in South Africa 4 years ago has finally walked free .Despite the hit men confessing to the crime after revealing he told them to murder her ,Shrien Dewani was today dramatically cleared of any part in the honeymoon murder of his new bride Anni after a judge threw out the case against him.
As the sensational verdict was handed down, Dewani's parents both burst into tears, while his brother Preyen allowed himself a small smile.
Three men have already been convicted of their role in the death, after the taxi the Dewanis were travelling in was hijacked as they passed through a township late at night.
Dewani has always denied any involvement in the plot. But prosecutors say bisexual Dewani wanted out of the relationship and plotted for his engineer wife, 28, to be killed in an apparent botched hijacking.He was accused of recruiting a taxi driver, Zola Tongo to stage a fake carjacking as a cover for her murder, with the help of two assassins.
South African Judge Traverso tore into the testimony from the state's key witness, Dewani's taxi driver Zola Tongo, saying it was 'riddled with contradictions'.Tongo, who was previously convicted of his part in the killing, entered a plea bargain with the State to testify against Dewani.
The judge also highlighted that two hitmen also convicted of the murder 'contradict Mr Tongo on just about every aspect of their interaction'.
Judge Jeanette Traverso said the prosecution had 'fallen far below' the level needed to secure a conviction and attacked the state's chief witness for giving testimony of such 'poor quality' she did not know where the 'lies end and truth begins'.
Outside the courtroom, her uncle Ashok also spoke of their dismay, saying they had been denied the full story and would suffer 'sleepless nights for the rest of our lives'.
He told MailOnline:
'The decision to end the trial without the defendant offering a defence, means we, and the good people of South Africa, the UK and various parts of the world who have followed the case, will always live without ever knowing the complete events that led up to Anni's death.'
Dewani showed little reaction in the dock as the verdict was delivered, bringing to an end his four-year ordeal in which he was accused of orchestrating a plot to murder his wife on their honeymoon in Cape Town.
Lawyers say he could now sue the South African authorities for attempting to use his sexuality as a 'motive' for wanting his wife killed as a 'way out' of the marriage.
TIMELINE OF THE HONEYMOON KILLING
2010
November 12: Newlyweds Shrien and Anni Dewani arrive in Cape Town, picked up at the airport by Zola Tongo
November 13: Honeymooners Shrien and Anni Dewani's taxi is ambushed as they take a night-time tour of Gugulethu, a township outside Cape Town
Dewani is allowed to go free, but his wife of two weeks is driven off and murdered. Her body is found the next morning in the back of the abandoned vehicle, with a fatal gunshot wound to her neck.
November 16: Dewani leaves South Africa with his wife's remains. One of the hitmen Xolile Mngeni is arrested by police.
November 17: Mngeni is charged with the hijacking and murder.
November 18: A second assassin Mzwamadoda Qwabe is arrested.
November 20: Police arrest the newlyweds' taxi driver Zola Tongo. Anni Dewani's funeral is held in London.
December 7: Tongo is jailed for 18 years following a plea agreement with the prosecuting authorities in which he implicates Dewani.
Dewani is arrested in Bristol on suspicion of conspiring to murder his wife, after South African authorities issue a warrant
August 10: District Judge Howard Riddle rules that Dewani can be extradited to South Africa to stand trial.
September 20: Wynberg Regional Court in South Africa hears claims that Dewani approached an airport shuttle service operator and sought a hitman to murder his wife almost immediately after the couple arrived at a five-star hotel in Cape Town.
August 8: Qwabe pleads guilty to charges of kidnapping, robbery, murder and illegal possession of a firearm, in relation to Mrs Dewani's murder. He is jailed for 25 years
November 19: After changing his guilty plea to not guilty and facing a full trial, Mngeni is found guilty of premeditated murder in Cape Town. Mrs Dewani's family attends the hearing.
December 5: Mngeni is jailed for life for the murder of Mrs Dewani.
2013
2014
October 6: On the first day of his trial, Shrien Dewani denies all five charges against him, including murder and kidnapping.
But in a plea statement, he admits that he is a bisexual who has paid for sex with men, including the gay bondage specialist The German Master, who told a newspaper Mr Dewani told him he 'needed to find a way out' of his marriage.
October 14: Judge Jeanette Traverso rules that all evidence about Dewani's sexuality is inadmissible. The state's case was that his secret gay life was a motive to want to be rid of his wife.
October 28: Taxi driver Zola Tongo tells the trial how Dewani offered him money to arrange his wife's murder.
November 17: The state closes its case, prompting Dewani's lawyers to announce they will apply for the charges against him to be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Culled from Mailonline
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