Shrien Dewani trial: Recap of updates from court as honeymoon murder case continues in Cape Town
Oct 28, 2014 14:27
By Alex Wellman
The British millionaire is accused of plotting the murder of his wife Anni during their honeymoon in South Africa in 2010
8:38 am
Judge Jeanette Traverso tells the defence that it was on record Mr Dewani felt conflicted, and asks why the defence feel it is important for Mr Leisser to repeat that.
The defence is claiming that the court previously argued and dismissed evidence from 2009, but this new evidence from Mr Leisser happened months later.
Dewani's defence lawyer Pieter Botha argues that any contact his client had with Mr Leisser cannot prove a motive and was only an irrelevant fact.
Judge Traverso has now left the court to consider arguments.
8:48 am
Judge Traverso is back in court having considered the arguments, but she is not allowing certain evidence of gay escort Leopold Leisser.
She says she will give her reasons in her judgement.
Despite this, the state has recalled Mr Leisser to the stand where he is now being questioned on aspects other than Dewani's sexuality.
8:56 am
Taking the witness stand, German national Mr Leisser tells the court how he noticed the accused was on the homosexual dating website Gaydar while he was organising his wedding. This left the witness "surprised".
Mr Leisser also tells the court how in December 2010, he noticed Dewani had deleted his Gaydar account, so he sent him a text message. The accused allegedly said he was busy and would be in touch.
8:59 am
For those who are interested, here is Mr Leisser's statement in full - much of which has been deemed irrelevant by the judge in the case.
Mr Leisser claimed in his police statement that Shrien Dewani visited him for sex sessions on 3 occasions.
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9:06 am
Mr Leisser said he first heard about the death of Anni Dewani and his former client had been accused of murder on CNN breaking news.
It was at this point, he claims, he made contact with British police to let them know about the relationship between him and the accused.
He said he gave officers documents relating to his contact with Shrien, but also admits he was contacted by the media and paid £18,000 for stories.
And with that, Mr Leisser has stepped down and left the court - which has adjourned for 15 minutes.
Taxi driver Zloa Tongo, who started giving evidence yesterday, is due up again next.
9:25 am
Convicted murderer Zola Tongo due to take stand
Trial: Murderer Zola Tongo was fetched from prison to give evidence in court
Yesterday, Tongo spoke about how Shrien told him he wanted someone killed: "A business partner. A woman."
The convicted murderer said he told hotel receptionist Monde Mbolombo that somebody wanted a person due to arrive in Cape Town 'taken out of sight'.
Under cross examination yesterday, the taxi driver said he later had a conversation with the accused which centred around the right sort of people.
Tongo said: "He wanted to make sure whether I found the people we were talking about."
9:44 am
CCTV footage of tragic Anni played in court
The court is now viewing a series of CCTV images showing both murdered Anni and her accused husband.
The first clip shows Tongo's car arriving at the Cape Grace hotel from the airport on the first day of their honeymoon.
He is asked by Judge Traverso if he knew at that point, that the woman was Shrien's wife Anni, and responds: "Yes, correct."
Footage shows Anni walking into the hotel first wearing jeans and a black top. Tongo confirms: "It is the wife of the gentleman."
9:53 am
Tongo: 'Dewani came into my car to discuss what was to be done'
Barcroft Watching: Shrien Dewani waits in the dock
CCTV then shows Shiren and Anni talking to someone in the hotel, before the accused is seen walking out of the building.
Tongo confirms the man pictured is Dewani and claims he came up to his car and got in - at which point discussions were held about "what was to be done".
The convicted murderer tells the court the discussion "took a long time". The CCTV footage then shows Dewani leaving the vehicle and Tongo driving away.
Judge Traverso asks: "Am I correct that you left immediately after Mr Dewani left your vehicle?"
Tongo replies: "Correct."
10:04 am
Tongo went to see 'middle-man' after chatting with Dewani
PA Footage: CCTV still of Monde Mbolombo allegedly on the phone to Zola Tongo on the BBC's Panorama programme
Convicted murderer Zola Tongo, said that following the discussion with Dewani, he then drove to meet so-called middle-man Monde Mbolombo at the Protea Hotel in Century City where he worked as a porter.
He said: "I knew him for quite some time, from when he was still a porter. It wasn't a big relationship, but we assisted each other."
Tongo tells how the pair would help each other out. Mbolomobo would send Tongo people wanting to go on tours and Tongo in return would give the porter a cut of the money received.
10:15 am
Tongo: 'Anni looked different on Saturday'
Marriage: Shrien with his wife Anni, 28. She was murdered as the couple honeymooned in South Africa
Tongo tells the court he only spoke to Anni on three occasions - when he first picked them up from the airport on Friday, Saturday morning to get foreign currency exchange and Saturday evening on the way to a restaurant.
There are reports of "murmuring" in court after Tongo tells how he did not think it was the same woman when he picked the couple up on Saturday.
He tells how he thought the woman he picked up on Saturday was "a different one". He says of the woman: "her condition was not the same", remarking how on Friday she was dressed casually.
Upon seeing the woman with Shiren on Saturday, he thought she was his business partner.
10:32 am
Tongo: 'Dewani told me to make sure everything is going well'
PA Pictured: Shrien Dewani and Zola Tongo were caught on CCTV together
Tongo tells the court how on the night of the killing he took the couple to a restaurant of his choosing in Somerset West.
He claims that as he walked with Shrien up to the restaurant, the accused was asking him "what happened" and let the driver know that he must make sure everything is going well.
With Anni lagging behind, Tongo says he took the couple into the restaurant and then left to fill the car with petrol, at which point he called the contract killers, who told him they could not come to Somerset West as it was too "wet" - meaning it had too many police around.
10:39 am
Tongo: 'My knees went weak as we drove to the killers'
Anni with her cousin Sneha Mashru, who is one of the main prosecution witnesses
The court hears how Tongo says he contacted Shrien shortly after speaking to the men, letting him know they were unable to come to Somerset and would now "wait" until Gugulethu.
He then tells how he went back to pick the couple up after their meal, and as Anni got in the car she started talking about how the food was not very good.
It was at this point they began driving to Gugulethu and Tongo says his knees "became weak".
He tells the court Shrien was looking at him: "through the mirror. He was staring with his eyes wide open as if he could see I don't want to get into Gugulethu."
10:58 am
Tongo reveals moment the killers 'carjacked' him
Gunman: Qwabe (left), Dewani (top right) and Anni
The court is now hearing the dramatic moment Tongo drove the couple to the spot he had agreed with killers Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda 'Spra' Qwabe.
The driver has told how when they got to Gugulethu he saw the two men at the agreed point and they instantly launched themselves at the car.
One of the men jumped onto the bonnet while the other pointed a gun at Tongo. The driver said: "I was forced to the back. One of them was driving. The other one pointed with firearms. There was more than one firearm. Xolile and Spra had a firearm. Mngeni had 9mm, Spra had a revolver."
Anni was on the right-hand side, while Shiren was in the middle and Tongo on the left. All three were ordered to hand over their mobile phones and Anni started crying.
Tongo tells the court that Shrien then started trying to console Anni as the car drove off. Just a short distance later, as agreed, Tongo was put out of the car first.
Tongo tells the court: "At the stop sign, as decided, I was told to leave the car and the gentleman would be next to get out."
And with that, the court has adjourned for lunch. It is due to start again at 12pm UK time.
12:14 pm
Court resumes with killer driver Tongo on the stand
Getty Trial: Shrien Dewani is on trial for murder in Cape Town
And we're back in court, with convicted murderer Zola Tongo on the stand. Just before the court adjourned for lunch, the taxi driver was recounting the moment he was 'carjacked' with Anni and Shrien Dewani in the back seat.
Before the break, he told how two men had stopped the car and forced him into the backseat with the newlyweds. The gunmen then demanded the three of them hand over their mobile phones, wallets and watches.
Tongo told how Anni was in tears at this point, with Shiren trying to comfort her, before the carjackers opened the car door a little while down the road and 'forced' the driver out at a previously agreed location.
To a packed courtroom, Tongo is now talking about what he did after he was pushed out of the car, and it sped off with the Dewanis in the back.
He said: "I met a young man and asked for assistance because my car had been taken."
12:26 pm
Tongo: 'I signed police document but it was lies'
Speaking through a translator, Tongo told the court that after initially asking one man for help, he spoke to another man at a nearby barracks who told the driver to ask for a police officer inside.
Soon after a female friend of Tongo's was called and then took him to a police station where he formally reported what had happened.
The driver tells the court he was then grilled by two different officers on who the people carjacked were, but he claimed not to remember their names.
He told the officers he knew which hotel they were staying at, at which point he signed a document "which was lies" and drove with police to the hotel.
12:34 pm
Tongo: 'Shrien asked me if I was alright'
Shekhar Bhatia Tragic: Shrien and Anni Dewani. The couple were on honeymoon in South Africa when Anni was shot
The driver has told the court how he went with police to the hotel where the Dewani's were staying.
As they arrived, other officers were already there and Tongo was brought in and questioned again. He tells the court he thinks it was around midnight now and that he stayed the night at the hotel.
To a hushed courtroom, Tongo claims millionaire Shrien came up to him while he was there. He said: "Mr Dewani approached me while I was sitting down. He wanted to know if I'm alright."
While giving evidence, the convicted criminal said that the Brit kept coming up to him every now and then, asking if he was alright, did he hear anything and "did this really take place?"
12:43 pm
'Smiling' Dewani spotted on CCTV camera morning after
The court is now being shown CCTV from the morning after the carjacking inside the hotel. Tongo is sitting down as Dewani comes up to him, looks over his shoulder and begins talking to the driver.
Those in court say it looks like the Brit has a phone in his hand as he talks to Tongo. The footage shows a cleaner appear, at which point Dewani speaks to them. Tongo tells the court Dewani asked the cleaner to give them some space.
Leigh-Anne Jansen, a South African reporter, claims that the CCTV footage then shows the accused man "smiling".
1:30 pm
Tongo: 'Shrien wanted to know if the job had been done'
Killed: Tragic Anni Dewani was shot dead
Tongo claims that during the conversation pictured on CCTV, Shrien asked him if the men "did what they were supposed to" or if he had heard anything.
The CCTV footage has now ended, but Tongo claims he met with Shrien later in the week at the hotel, before the taxi driver was taken to the carjacking spot by police.
He claims he later spoke to Dewani on the phone and was told the British millionaire said he would pay him the outstanding money.
According to Tongo, Dewani arranged for them to meet at the hotel's waterfront bridge, but when the driver arrived the accused was not there. After calling him, Dewani said he could not come out as there were too many police officers and journalists.
Tongo claims he then made his way inside the hotel where he spotted Shrien in a passageway. The driver tells the court, the Brit signalled for him to follow him into a room where he then gave him an envelope in a plastic bag.
1:45 pm
Tongo: 'I was angry with the amount of cash'
Getty Police: Officers were camped outside the hotel
The driver tells the court that he then counted the money but realised there was 'only' ZAR1,000 (£57).
Speaking through an interpreter, he tells the court the money was paid in ZAR100 notes, but that he went looking for Shrien but did not see again and left the hotel.
The court is now playing CCTV footage from this encounter, which happened three days after Anni died. The footage shows Tongo waiting on the bridge, before going inside and meeting Dewani.
The footage ends with Tongo leaving the hotel.
1:58 pm
Tongo: 'I decided to tell the truth as it would come out in the end'
Killer taxi driver Zola Tongo has told the court that he finally decided to come clean about his involvement in the planning and execution of the carjacking and murder to give himself "peace of mind".
Following the arrests of Mziwamadoda and Xolile, the driver said he went to police and made a new, true statement about the night.
He tell the court: "I told them the truth to give me peace of mind. I knew the truth would come out."
He admits to the judge that he signed a plea agreement with the state in December 2010, and later received an 18-year sentence for his role.
The court has now adjourned for the day.
2:27 pm
The court has adjourned for the day
This blog is now closed as the court has adjourned for the day.
To recap on the day's events:
The taxi driver who was convicted over the murder of Anni Dewani has been giving evidence today, including the moment he was 'carjacked' by two men.
Zola Tongo, speaking through an interpreter, told how he only met the tragic newlywed three times, the first time when he picked her and husband Shrien from the airport.
Speaking to a hushed court, he told how on the day the murder happened, he picked the couple up from their plush hotel and drove them to a restaurant. He claims Shrien then asked he what was happening, before he left them to eat and called his accomplices.
Tongo told the court he was told by Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda 'Spra' Qwabe, the duo were unable to "do the job" where the restaurant was as there were too many police officers, so they agreed to do it later at a place called Gugulethu.
Speaking to Judge Jeanette Traverso, Tongo said then then picked up the couple from their meal, at which point they set off on their fatal journey.
While driving to the agreed spot, Tongo told the court his "knees went weak" and claimed millionaire businessman Dewani stared blankly at him in the rearview mirror.
Telling of the moment the carjacking took place, Tongo said he turned into Gugulethu and saw his accomplices, who then pulled out a gun and forced him into the back seat.
Demanding all three hand over their phones and other valuables, Tongo said terrified Anni began crying, while Shrien attempted to console her.
He claims he was then 'forced' out of the car a short distance up the road, at which point he sought help to go and tell police what had happened.
CCTV was later shown to the court that apparently showed Shiren talking to Tongo at the hotel the morning after the carjacking.
Just before the court adjourned for the day, Tongo said he was paid ZAR1,000 by Dewani at the hotel, but he later admitted his role to give himself "peace of mind" and because the truth "would come out in the end".
Come back here tomorrow for further live updates from the trial.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/shrien-dewani-trial-recap-updates-4520850
