Dewani takes a break in Kenya
Murdered wife’s family spots man they still blame
THE FAMILY of honeymoon murder victim Anni Hindocha have spoken of their astonishment after a chance encounter with her widower as he enjoyed a holiday in Kenya.
One of Anni’s relatives spotted millionaire care homeowner Shrien Dewani – who was cleared in December of involvement in his wife’s murder in South Africa while they were on holiday – as he relaxed in a restaurant in Nairobi last week.
“I can’t believe he’s had the nerve to return to Africa, where my daughter died, after consistently claiming that he was too afraid and ill to travel,” Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, said at the weekend.
Dewani fought extradition to South Africa, claiming he suffered mental health problems.
Hindocha added his cousin decided not to approach the 34-year-old Dewani, but instead photographed him with a cellphone – the first time he has been pictured publicly since he returned to England following the case against him in Cape Town.
At the time, 28-year-old Anni’s mother Nilam Hindocha accused him of cowardice and condemned him for leaving her daughter alone with her killers after he allegedly organised a car-jacking while they were on honeymoon in 2010.
To the dismay of her family, the trial was halted before the defence had even begun its case, meaning Dewani never took the stand.
“He didn’t have the guts to face us,” said Nilam Hindocha.
The family said the judge’s decision left many unanswered questions as it meant Dewani, who led a double life as a bisexual, would not have to give evidence or face cross-examination over accusations that he staged the car-jacking in Gugulethu.
Shortly after the murder, Dewani became a suspect and fought a three-and-a -half year battle against extradition to South Africa.
After he was forced to return to Cape Town, his lawyers insisted he would be a high suicide risk as he still suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and depression.
Since Dewani’s return to England seven months ago, he has kept a low profile, rarely straying far from the family home near Bristol.
But Vinod Hindocha’s cousin said he looked “completely carefree” as he dined with his aunt, Jyoti Badiani, at the Zen Garden restaurant in an upmarket Nairobi suburb last weekend. After their Thai meal, he chatted happily and played with his smartphone.
“My cousin was completely shocked that he’d surfaced in Africa and took the picture thinking none of the family would believe it,” said Vinod Hindocha. “It was a complete coincidence and really very strange. Of all places, why would he go back to Africa? Amazing! My cousin also saw him at a shopping mall in Nairobi.”
Dewani spent a week with his aunt and uncle, Dr Shashi Badiani, at their property a few kilometres from the city centre.
On several occasions he accompanied his uncle to his clinic and office – Badiani also runs a company selling medical supplies – and twice joined his relatives when they went to pray at a nearby Hindu temple.
Mostly, though, Dewani relaxed at their home, enjoying the flower-filled terrace overlooking their peaceful garden, shielded by jacaranda trees. He flew back to the UK last week.
Vinod Hindocha said he hoped his former son-in-law will face his first public questioning under oath over the murder in a resumed British inquest into Anni’s death later this year. “We are still waiting for answers.”
Vinod Hindocha was angry that the issue of Dewani’s bisexuality was dismissed by the judge at the start of the trial in South Africa on the grounds that it was not in dispute, leaving the prosecution without a motive to prove murder.
One of the main features of the case against him had been the evidence of Dewani’s secret liaisons with gay prostitutes, including one called Leopold Leisser.
However, much of what Leisser, also known as the German Master, had been prepared to testify was thrown out by Judge Jeanette Traverso for being “irrelevant” to the case. – Mail On Sunday