Newlyweds Anni Hindocha
and Shrien Dewani were
honeymooning in South
Africa when a carjacking
went horribly wrong and cut
short her life on 13
November 2010. Anni was
shot in the neck while
Shrien was thrown out of
the car unscathed.
And the question that is
perplexing most South
African observers is why
Shrien was allowed to walk
away from the hijacking so
easily especially when he
could identify the hijackers
to the police. In most
hijacking cases, the couple
are beaten up badly and
robbed and the woman is
abused in front of the
husband. If fortunate, the
victims are left by the
roadside while the unlucky
victims are killed and their
vehicle set on fire to
eliminate all evidence.
But in the Anni Hindocha
murder case, everything was
done differently.
Fairytale wedding cut short
abruptly
They had married two
weeks earlier in Mumbai,
India in a lavish Hindu
ceremony that was attended
by relatives and close
friends. Anni was to move in
with Shrien when they
returned back to the United
Kingdom from a four-day
safari in the Kruger National
Park and a relaxing stay in
the five-star comforts of the
Cape Grace hotel in Cape
Town.
According to Shrien, on 13
November 2010, Anni and
he wanted to experience
the ‘real South Africa’ and
requested their tax driver to
take them to Gugulethu, a
massive shantytown in the
suburbs of Cape Town.
When their car had stopped
at a traffic light, it was
hijacked by two gunmen
who robbed and dumped
him out of the car and shot
dead his new bride.
The brutal murder of Anni
Hindocha shocked South
Africa and as the news
spread abroad, everyone
expressed sympathy for
Shrien at the tragic loss of
his wife.
However, as the South
African police started their
investigations into the
murder mystery, a different
picture started to emerge.
Taxi driver alleges Shrien
wanted his wife dead
The taxi driver arrested for
the murder, in his Court
testimony, alleged that
Shrien Dewani was the
mastermind behind Anni’s
murder and had paid him
money to arrange it to look
like a robbery gone horribly
wrong.
Denying the allegation,
Shrien said he handed over
his £2,000 Rado watch,
digital camera, £500 in cash,
mobile phone and his wife’s
jewelry that included her
engagement ring to the
hijackers. While trying to
save his sobbing wife, he
was thrown out of the car
along with the driver
uninjured. He adds that he
banged on nearby shanties
to raise an alarm but
nobody came to help him.
When leaving South Africa
for the UK, Shrien said that
the idea of visiting
Gugulethu was his wife’s as
she wanted to see the ‘real
South Africa’ and he had no
idea that a mere visit to the
shantytown would kill his
wife.
South African police
investigations have shown
that the brutal murder
shooting was not just a
random case and it was a
planned hit. The driver has
become a state witness and
the South African authorities
want to question Shrien
about his alleged
involvement in his wife’s
murder. As he has refused
to voluntarily go back to
South Africa, the South
African police have
requested the UK court to
extradite him and help them
solve the murder mystery of
Anni Hindocha.
It remains to be seen if the
Court extradites Shrien to
South Africa and help the
local authorities solve the
murder mystery of Anni and
deliver justice to her
shocked and grieving family
and friends.
An online petition
requesting Shrien’s
extradition has been started,
click here to sign it.
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