Shrien Dewani says he's the victim of a 'witch hunt' and he still wants answers as coroner says there WON’T be an inquest into his bride Anni's murder 

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A coroner has ruled there will be no inquest into the death of murdered honeymoon bride Anni Dewani (pictured right, with her husband Shrien) 

Shrien Dewani has blasted the investigation into his wife Anni's murder and said he had been made the subject of a 'witch hunt' in a letter to the coroner who ruled there would not be a full inquest into her death.

The 34-year-old businessman from Bristol said he had a 'significant number of questions' about the night his new bride was kidnapped and killed during their honeymoon to South Africa in 2010.

In the letter to North London Coroner's Court he said he 'shared the frustrations' of Mrs Dewani's family, and that he had suffered because of the evidence of those found to have lied in his South African court case last year.  

Swedish-raised engineer, Mrs Dewani, 28, was shot dead as she and her new husband toured a rough suburb of Cape Town on November 13, 2010.

Three men - Zola Tongo, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni – were given jail terms for their role in the killing.

They claimed Mr Dewani arranged the hijacking in which he would survive and his wife would die.

However, a judge in South Africa threw out the case against him because it was 'riddled with inconsistencies' and the evidence provided by the three men was flawed.

He was acquitted in December last year. 

Mr Dewani was responding to correspondence from senior coroner Andrew Walker in which he was asked questions by the family of his wife - the Hindochas.

In September, Mr Walker said Mr Dewani could not be made to provide answers at a full inquest, and decided to write to him for an indication on whether he would respond to the questions.

Today, Mr Walker told the hearing in Barnet he would not be holding a full inquest into the death.

'I don't have sufficient cause to resume an inquest,' he said. 'In these proceedings, the matter will now rest.' 

The hearing heard Mr Dewani would not be attending but that he had written a letter to be circulated amongst those representing Mrs Dewani.

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

In it he said the questions had been shown to his legal team who shared the opinion of the coroner that an inquest in the UK would 'serve no purpose'.

The letter read: 'The members of the gang that need to answer questions have failed to do so in court and have not been brought to justice by the South African authorities.

'This is despite a multimillion pound police investigation that spanned four years. The evidence collected by the South African police was tested with the evidentiary rigour of the High Court in Cape Town by the Deputy Judge President and two experienced assessors.

'I would like to make clear that I have a significant number of questions which remain unanswered about the night that my wife and I were kidnapped and Anni was tragically shot after being taken away from me.' 

Mrs Dewani's father Vinod Hindocha (left) and uncle Ashok Hindocha (right) had wanted a full inquest to be held into Mrs Dewani's death because they still had many unanswered questions about how she was killed

Speaking outside the hearing, Mrs Dewani's uncle (right) said the family still needed questions answering to allow them 'to move on with their lives'

In the letter, Mr Dewani drew attention to the findings of the court in relation to the evidence given by Tongo, Qwabe and Mngeni, and that of self-styled middle man Monde Mbolombo who was granted immunity by the state for giving evidence against the Briton - a decision that was reportedly later reversed.

'Each of the gang members did a deal with the authorities to gain either full immunity or vastly reduced sentences in return for providing evidence against me,' he said.

'It is the evidence of these proven liars that led to a witch hunt against me and the resulting failure to pursue the truth of what happened that night.

'It is clear that none of the evidence provided by these persons was corroborated in any meaningful way. This has allowed the individuals concerned to literally get away with murder.

'Despite the High Court judge's recommendation that Mr Mbolombo's immunity be removed, no action against him has been taken.

'I understand and share the Hindocha family's frustrations. However the extent of my knowledge of the events leading up to Anni's murder has already been set out in a detailed publicly-available plea explanation. This document was read out in Court at the start of my trial.

'The new list of questions does not help to establish why Anni was taken from me and shot.'

Mr Dewani concluded by calling on those seeking justice for his wife's death to join him 'in requesting the South African authorities to follow the judge's recommendation and properly pursue Mr Mbolombo who was unveiled by CCTV and phone records as the person who set up and orchestrated this plot'. 

Mr Dewani did not attend the hearing in Barnet today, though his letter was shown to Mrs Dewani's father, Vinod Hindocha, 66, and her uncle Ashok Hindocha, 55, in court.  

Swedish-raised engineer, Mrs Dewani  (left) was shot dead as she toured a rough suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, while on her honeymoon with new husband Shrien (right) on November 13, 2010. He was cleared of plotting her murder last year

Mrs Dewani's family (pictured) hoped an inquest hearing would give them answers as to what happened to the newlywed as Mr Dewani was not forced to give evidence in the trial, a decision they criticised when the case fell apart

The family had hoped a hearing would give them answers as to what happened to the newlywed as Mr Dewani was not forced to give evidence in the trial, a decision they criticised when the case fell apart.

Speaking outside the hearing today, her uncle, said the family, including Mrs Dewani's father who wept as he stood with next to his brother, needed questions answering to allow them 'to move on with their lives'. 

With tears in his eyes, Ashok Hindocha said: 'What can I say? We were hoping that some kind legal representation for Shrien Dewani would be here, or he himself would be here - but no.

'We have got a few more options left, we are going to look through all of these options.'

He thanked the hundreds of people who had got in touch with the family on social media and email with questions to put to Mr Dewani.

Mr Dewani, pictured leaving a restaurant in Mayfair in August, did not attend the hearing this morning

'We sent them a bunch of questions that we wanted answered - no response,' he said.

'Then those questions were also not responded to in South Africa, and those are the questions so we can move on with our lives.

'Now we will have to go on with another battle; whatever it is we can't talk about it at this point.

'But this battle is not over, we will continue to fight this case. We need answers.'

Issuing a direct plea to Mr Dewani, Mr Hindocha, standing beside Mrs Dewani's father, called on him to 'speak up'.

'This is not a legal court, he [Mr Dewani] should have just come here and said 'Look, this is what happened'.' 

He added that the letter was the first time the family had heard from Mr Dewani since his wife's funeral.

Mr Hindocha said the process of trying to uncover new evidence which could reignite the case, was 'already ongoing'.

He also told reporters that Mr Dewani's absence from the court reminded him of the first hearing in 2010.

'I just felt the same thing. He wasn't there, because he was ill or whatever, we were alone there with a lawyer and just a few papers,' he said.

Finally, Mr Hindocha called on Mr Dewani to help bring matters to an end, saying: 'Let's come to closure so we can move on with our lives.' 

Representing the family during the hearing, Christopher Staker had submitted that 'as a result of the proceedings in South Africa, in this case, more questions have been raised than have been answered'.

He continued: 'The family's primary preference would be for an inquest to proceed now.

'The reason for that is that there is simply, as a result of what has happened in South Africa, no clear picture - in fact we have a contradictory picture - of what happened between the time that Anni's parents last spoke to her on the evening of 13 November 2010 about 8pm South Africa time and on the morning of the 14 November 2010 at 7.50am when she was found dead in a car with a bullet wound to the neck. 

'The question that the family are desperately seeking an answer to is what happened between the time that her parents last spoke to her on the evening of the 13th, and the time that she was found dead the next morning in a car.

'And what circumstances led from one to the other.'  

After reading Mr Dewan's letter Mr Stalker, said it did not change the Hindocha's position.

He said: 'The response has come. It does not answer the substantive questions that were asked.

Mr Dewani, 34, (pictured with Mrs Dewani before her death) fought a four year UK court battle against extradition before being sent to South Africa to face trial accused of instigating a plot to have her murdered

'It may be the submission that it serves no purpose to have a full inquest.

'That is a view that is contradictory to the view of the family.'

However, Mr Walker ruled a full inquest should not take place.  

 'The fact that there are differing accounts of how Mrs Dewani came by her death does not, in my view, mean that the matters have not already been sufficiently established in public proceedings,' he said.

He added that if new evidence, beyond that which already exists, comes to light, it would be open to the family to write to the Attorney General and request that matters be reopened.

Mr Walker told the court that he was 'prohibited' from reaching a conclusion which was inconsistent with the findings of the South African courts.

Mrs Dewani (pictured) was not sexually assaulted or raped according to the post mortem, but she was shot through the hand and neck, possibly as she lay face down in the taxi

Offering his condolences to the family, he said: 'I cannot begin to imagine how hard it must be for you to have lost a member of your family and after all this time still to have so many questions in your mind.

'You have my deepest sympathies.' 

Before last month's hearing, the Hindochas had urged Mr Dewani to 'be a man' and explain publicly his recollection of events of the day she was killed.

Dewani's South African trial was riddled with delays, while swathes of evidence were dismissed or considered irrelevant to the case.

It was alleged that he arranged for the car he and his wife were travelling in to be hijacked, in a planned attack in which he would survive and his wife would be killed.

The Bristol businessman fought a four year UK court battle against extradition before being sent to South Africa to face trial accused of instigating a plot to have her murdered.

Prosecutors alleged that he was bisexual - a claim confirmed by Mr Dewani's own lawyer - and arranged his wife's murder to cover up for his double life as a client of sadomasochistic male prostitutes.

German prostitute Leopold Leisser was lined up to testify about bisexual Mr Dewani's double life, but his court appearance was reduced to little more than a 15-minute offering after the judge decided it contributed little to the evidence already submitted as part of Mr Dewani's witness statement. 

A self-confessed middle man Monde Mbolombo was granted immunity by the state for testifying against the Briton.

Mr Dewani, who had spent eight months undergoing treatment at a hospital on the edge of Cape Town after being extradited to South Africa, was not called to give evidence in his own defence.

He returned to England at the conclusion of the case without ever commenting in public. He has always denied any involvement in his wife's murder.

He claimed he and his wife were kidnapped as they toured the township and they were victims of a random kidnapping.

He said his life was spared as the two gunmen pushed him out of the vehicle window, after the driver had been freed. 

Mrs Dewani was not sexually assaulted or raped according to the post mortem, but she was shot through the hand and neck, possibly as she lay face down in the taxi.

Judge Jeanette Traverso (pictured at the end of the trial in South Africa) dismissed the murder case against Mr Dewani because it was 'riddled with inconsistencies'

Mrs Dewani's sister Ami Denborg (left), her brother Anish Hindocha (centre) and father Vinod (right) were visibly upset as they left court following the collapse of the trial in Cape Town

Mr Dewani at the airport in Cape Town following his acquittal as he prepared to return to Britain

Mr Dewani's trial heard her death would have been instant and 'within a few heartbeats.' 

Mrs Dewani who was born in Sweden had written emails and texts to her family in the days before her murder, saying she was unhappy and mentioned divorce. 

At one stage during their engagement she had thrown her ring at him and labelled him 'Hitler' and called off the wedding.

In the final telephone call to her father from honeymoon in Cape Town, she had told him: 'Papa, I have a lot to tell you when I see you.'

Her family believe she was to inform them of Dewani's secret sex life and preferences.

Mr Dewani, a millionaire businessman whose family run care homes in Bristol, says the claims that he had any part in his wife's murders were nonsense and they were deeply in love.

THE TRAGIC KILLING OF HONEYMOON BRIDE ANNI DEWANI 

Anni Dewani, 28, was killed in November 2010 while on honeymoon in South Africa

2010

November 13 Shrien and Anni Dewani's cab is hijacked as their chauffeur Zola Tongo drives them through the rough township of Gugulethu on the outskirts of Cape Town on their honeymoon. Mr Dewani escapes but his wife, 28, is driven off and killed.

November 14 Mrs Dewani's body is found in the back of the abandoned vehicle. A subsequent post-mortem examination finds she was shot in the neck.

Over the next few days Mr Dewani returns to the UK while suspects Xolile Mngeni, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and the couple's taxi driver Tongo are arrested by Western Cape police in connection with the murder.

December 7 Tongo is jailed for 18 years after making a plea agreement with prosecutors. The taxi driver claims Mr Dewani offered him 15,000 rand (less than £1,000 at the time) to have his wife killed.

Mr Dewani is arrested in Bristol under a South African warrant on suspicion of conspiring to murder his wife. His family deny the accusation.

December 8 Mr Dewani appears at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in London and is remanded in custody as South African authorities fight to extradite him. 

2011

March 3 Dewani, who is said to be suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder, is sent to the Priory Hospital in Bristol and later detained under the Mental Health Act at a secure hospital in the city.

May 3-5 Dewani's extradition hearing begins at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London.

August 10 District Judge Howard Riddle rules that Dewani can be extradited to South Africa to stand trial and Home Secretary Theresa May later signs an order for Dewani to be extradited to South Africa.

September 30 Dewani lodges a High Court appeal against Mrs May's decision.

2012

March 30 The High Court temporarily halts Dewani's extradition, ruling that it would be 'unjust and oppressive' to order his removal but that he should be extradited 'as soon as he is fit' to be tried.

August 8 South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority announces that Qwabe has pleaded guilty to murdering Mrs Dewani along with charges of kidnapping, robbery and the illegal possession of a firearm. He is jailed for 25 years.

November 19 Mngeni is found guilty of premeditated murder at Western Cape High Court. He is also convicted of robbery with aggravating circumstances and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. But he is acquitted of Mrs Dewani's kidnapping.

December 3 Dewani is allowed to switch from Fromeside to Blaise View mental health hospital in Bristol, described as a more 'open, relaxed and calm environment', after a court hears he is a 'husk' of his former self and 'adapted poorly' to treatment.

December 5 Mngeni is jailed for life for shooting Mrs Dewani.

2013

A judge ordered that Mr Dewani (pictured in the South African court) be found not guilty part way through the trial, which was riddled with delays, while swathes of evidence were dismissed or considered irrelevant to the case

July 24 Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle rules Dewani should be extradited to South Africa during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court. Lawyers acting for Dewani immediately announce their intention to appeal.

September 19 The BBC broadcasts a Panorama documentary suggesting Dewani could be innocent, despite outrage from his former bride's family who accuse film-makers of interfering in the South African justice system.

October 22 Dewani's extradition is delayed as a panel of High Court judges decides the murder suspect can have a further hearing as there are outstanding legal issues the court must decide.

2014

January 31 Dewani, still detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act, loses his latest High Court appeal to block his extradition after assurances about the suspect's treatment by South African authorities.

March 3 Three High Court judges reject Dewani's final bid to have the case heard by the Supreme Court, further paving the way for his extradition.

April 7 Dewani is extradited.

October 6 The murder trial opens, with Dewani's witness statement confirming allegations he is bisexual.

November 10 Monde Mbolombo, a hotel receptionist granted immunity for his part in the murder, says Dewani 'knows everything' about the plot to kill Mrs Dewani.

November 24 Judge Traverso adjourns the trial after hearing the prosecution's case to decide if it should proceed, following appeals by the defence that there is not enough evidence to convict Dewani.

December 3 Mrs Dewani's brother, Anish Hindocha, calls a press conference on behalf of his family at which he begs Mr Dewani to 'tell the world what happened the night she died'.

December 8 Judge Traverso criticises the prosecution case and orders Mr Dewani be found not guilty.

December 10 Mr Dewani arrives back in the UK.

2015

October 9 Senior Coroner Andrew Walker rules at North London Coroner's Court that there is no 'sufficient cause to resume an inquest' into the death of the murdered bride.