No inquest but ‘battle goes on’ for Dewani family

There will be no full inquest into the death of murdered bride Anni Dewani, a coroner has ruled. The decision means that, almost five years after she was found dead in a car in Cape Town, the 28-year-old’s family still do not have the answers they desperately want.

Millionaire businessman Shrien Dewani was cleared last year of orchestrating the killing of his wife, who was shot as the couple drove through the outskirts of the South African capital on 14 November 2010, while they were on their honeymoon.

Mrs Dewani’s family claimed there were still many unanswered questions about how she died and asked for a full inquest to resume.

But at North London Coroner’s Court, senior coroner Andrew Walker said: “I don’t have sufficient cause to resume an inquest.

“The fact that there are differing accounts of how Mrs Dewani came by her death does not, in myview, mean that the matters have not already been sufficiently established in public proceedings.”

Having never heard Mr Dewani personally recount what happened on the fateful night, Mrs Dewani’s family hoped he would do so at an inquest, or answer a set of questions sent to him after a hearing in September.

However, the 34-year-old did not attend, and instead wrote a letter which was read by his wife’s father,Vinod Hindocha, 66, and uncle, Ashok Hindocha, 55.

Speaking outside court, Ashok Hindocha said that, despite the ruling, the family still have options available to them and that their “battle” will continue.

Three men– Zola Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni – were given jail terms for their role in Mrs Dewani’s killing.

In his letter to the court, Shrien Dewani said he has a “significant number” of questions that remain unanswered about the night his wife was kidnapped and killed. The businessman from Bristol said he “shared the frustrations” of Anni Dewani’s family and that he had been made the subject of a “witch hunt”.

Although the letter was not made public at the hearing, Mr Dewani’s family made a copy of it available to the media.